RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 


"'It  is  our  good-by  kiss,'  she  said,  —  'the  very  last! 


RODERICK  TALIAFERRO 

A   STORY   OF 
MAXIMILIAN'S   EMPIRE 


BY 

GEORGE   CRAM   COOK 


WITH  ILLUSTRATIONS  BY  SEYMOUR  M.   STONE 


Nefo  fforfe 
THE   MACMILLAN   COMPANY 

LONDON:  MACMILLAN  &  CO.,  LTD. 
1903 

All  rights  reserved 


COPT*IGHT,  1908, 
BY  THE  MAOMILLAN  COMPANY. 


Set  up  and  clectrotyped  March,  1903. 


J.  8.  Cuihing  &  Co.  —  Berwick  &  Smith  Co. 
Norwood,  M«M.,  U.S.A. 


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JFatfjer  anlr  $totfjer 


CONTENTS 


THE   BOOK   OF   THE  BULL 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

I.     THE  PASEO 1 

II.      FULCHERI'S 8 

HI.    THE  CATHEDRAL 26 

IV.     FRENCH  MILITARY  JUSTICE 37 

V.     EXPELLED 41 

VI.    THE  KING  OF  THE  GLEAMING  RING   ...  49 

VII.     THE  COMING  OF  THE  QUADRILLA        .        .        .  60 

VIII.     THE  PLAZA  DE  TOROS 66 

IX.    THE  COKRIDA 76 

II 
THE  BOOK  OF  LOVE 

I.    LIEUTENANT  TAILLEFER 109 

II.     THE  MARSHAL'S  BALL 116 

III.  THE  SONATA 131 

IV.  EDEN 143 

V.     THE  CALLE  DE  MEDINAS 149 

VI.     CONCERNING  REVOLVER  BUTTS    ....  161 

VII.     FAREWELL 171 

VIII.     CHAPULTEPEC 184 

IX.     THE  EMPRESS  CHARLOTTE    .                                  ,  202 


viii  CONTENTS 

III 
THE  BOOK  OF  WAR 

OHAPTBB  PASS 

I.  RENUNCIATION 225 

II.  THE  SIX-MULE  TEAM     .        .        .       .       .        .236 

III.  THE  CAZADORES  DE  SAN  Luis    .        .        .        .    242 

IV.  THE  TULA  ROAD   .        .        .        .        .        .        .257 

V.      IXMIQUILPAN    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  •      269 

VI.      MlRAMON  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .      295 

VII.    MARQUEZ        .        .       .        .        .    ;    .        .        .    312 

VIII.    THE  SIEGE  OF  QUERETARO 339 

IX.    LOPEZ      .        .        .       .        ....       ..    ...    351 

IV 
THE  BOOK  OF  DEATH 

I.  THE  PRISONS  OF  QUERETARO  ....    369 

II.  JUAREZ    .        .        .        .        »  .        .        .        .    375 

III.  DEL  BORGO     .        »        .        .  .     ~  .        .        .    382 

IV.  DON  JOSE        .        .        .1  .        .        .        .393 

V.      HE   THAT   LOSETH   HIS   LlFE 401 

VI.  THE  TRIUMPH  OF  DON  JOSE        .        .        .        .419 

VII.  THE  DEATH  SENTENCE 428 

VIII.  THE  TRIUMPH  OF  LOVE        .        .        .        .        .    437 

IX.  DEATH  459 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

"  '  It  is  our  good-by  kiss,'  she  said,  —  '  the  very  last ! ' >: 

Frontispiece 

PAGE 

"  For  five  crucial  seconds  the  muscles  of  the  two  men 

strained,  equal  and  motionless  " 35 

"  There  was  only  a  rush  of  hoofs,  a  surge  of  horns,  a 

spring,  a  thrust,  a  shock  —  " 86 

"  Taliaferro  cocked  the  revolver  with  his  thumb,  shut  his 

teeth,  and  drew  a  steady  bead  on  De  Castro's  chest" .     169 

"  Taliaferro  threw  himself  between  the  remaining  two, 

and  seized  the  bridle  of  De  Castro "     .        .  .    268 

" '  Roderick ! '    she  cried,  and  lay  for  a  moment  in  his 

arms"  .  ,    479 


THE   BOOK   OF   THE   BULL 


KODEKICK  TALIAFEKRO 


THE   PASEO 

ALONG  the  eucalyptus-shadowed  Paseo  de 
Bucarelli  moved  old  coaches  of  Milan,  carved 
and  gilded,  new  ones  of  Paris,  shiny  and  black. 
One  row  went  out  toward  La  Piedad ;  another 
came  back  toward  the  statue  of  Carlos  IV.  Be 
tween,  in  red  and  blue,  silver  and  gray,  green  and 
black,  rode  glittering  officers.  It  was  an  endless 
chain  of  carriages.  In  them,  smiling,  saluting, 
gossiping,  sat  Mexican  society. 

There  were  owners  of  tropic  plantations,  cattle- 
covered  provinces,  fabulous  mines.  There  were 
retired  generals,  cabinet  ministers,  imperial  cham 
berlains.  From  every  country  in  Europe  were 
nobles,  diplomats,  adventurers.  But  there  were 
women.  These  were  the  Paseo,  for  it  was  a 
society  event.  These  were  the  indolent,  grace 
ful  granddaughters  of  Spain,  with  their  little 
black  fans,  and  powdered  faces,  and  eyes  of 
velvet  night. 

In  a  coach  with  escutcheoned  panel  a  girl  sat 
languid  beside  her  mother.  Along  came  a  hand 
some  horseman  in  charro  costume,  —  buckskin 

3 


4  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

trousers,  rows  of  coins,  colored  lariat,  peaked 
sombrero.  He  saluted.  The  young  lady's  lan 
guor  vanished.  She  leaned  forward,  smiled,  was 
delighted.  Her  jewelled  ringers  almost  touched 
her  lips  and  opened  toward  the  man.  It  was 
the  conventional  salute  with  rapid  fingers,  but 
almost  like  tossed  kisses.  Her  handkerchief 
seemed  to  blow  away.  Certainly  it  fell  to  the 
ground.  The  horseman  wheeled.  Heel  on  cantle, 
hand  in  mane,  he  swung  over  and  picked  up  the 
white  fugitive.  As  he  returned  it,  he  «  threw  a 
flower,"  whose  petals  were  words. 

Along  the  sidewalk  went  cotton-clad  men  with 
gay  blankets,  and  dusky  women  wearing  babies 
in  black  shawls.  Among  such  plebeians  stood 
an  American  looking  wistfully  upon  that  brill 
iant  world  in  which  he  knew  not  a  soul.  Below 
a  military  mustache  he  had  the  chin  of  a  man  of 
action ;  behind  rimless  glasses  the  eyes  of  a  man 
of  thought.  He  was  straight  as  a  lance,  and 
girls  looked  twice  at  him.  He  nearly  clapped 
his  hands  when  the  horseman  picked  up  the 
handkerchief. 

"  How  charmingly  they  play  their  little  parts 
on  this  Paseo  stage  !  "  mused  he. 

With  rapturous  glances  the  horseman  rode 
after  the  carriage  of  his  inamorata,  passed  on 
under  the  aqueduct,  and  was  lost  to  view. 

Behind  an  escort  of  red-coated  hussars  came  a 
gorgeous  equipage  with  liveried  outriders.  In  it 
were  a  proud,  sweet  woman  and  a  blue-eyed  gen- 


THE  PASEO  5 

tleman  with  golden  beard.  The  people  cheered. 
With  smiles  and  bows  the  Emperor  and  Empress 
passed.  They  were  returning  from  the  Cathe 
dral,  for  it  was  the  16th  of  September,  1865,  and 
a  Te  Deum  had  celebrated  the  forty-fourth  anni 
versary  of  Mexican  independence. 

Marshal  Bazaine,  Commander-in-chief  of  the 
French  expeditionary  army,  drove  by  with  his 
beautiful  Mexican  bride.  As  she  passed,  she 
saluted  the  Vicomte  de  Saint-Castin  and  his 
American  wife. 

Between  the  carriages  appeared  a  spick-and- 
span  sergeant  of  chasseurs  on  a  shiny-coated  Arab 
stallion.  Beneath  his  heavy  helmet,  brass-crested, 
horsehair-plumed,  was  a  merry  face.  Under  his 
gray  eyes  were  wrinkles  made  by  much  shrewd 
laughter.  "  Elephant's  eyes  "  an  irate  friend  had 
called  them,  — "  Yes  sir,  your  eyes  look  like  a 
scheming  elephant's ! " 

"  Sarnette  !  "  shouted  the  American. 

The  sergeant  reined  in  and  looked  about. 

"  Here,  over  here ! "  cried  the  other,  speaking 
French,  and  stepping  out  from  the  crowd. 

"  Taliaferro ! "  exclaimed  the  sergeant,  and 
wheeled  his  horse  at  the  first  gap  in  the  line. 

He  passed  in  front  of  a  carriage  in  which  were 
three  ladies.  Fearing  a  collision,  the  coachman 
reined  in  suddenly,  and  his  near  horse  fell  on  the 
slippery  pavement,  sliding,  and  dragging  down 
its  mate.  One  of  the  animals  was  caught  by  a 
trace  and  unable  to  rise.  The  endless  chain  was 


6  RODERICK  TALIAFERRO 

broken.  The  liveried  coachman  and  footman  sat 
on  the  box,  preserving  their  dignity,  and  waiting 
for  bystanding  Indian  servants  to  pick  up  their 
horse.  The  sergeant's  horse  was  walking  back 
ward  on  hind  legs,  and  nearing  the  curb,  which 
if  reached,  would  spill  the  animal  on  top  of  his 
rider.  The  American  sprang  to  the  side  opposite 
the  pawing  stallion,  and  threw  open  the  door. 

«  Quick  ! "  he  cried,  but  just  then  the  spurred 
steed  of  the  sergeant  crashed  into  the  carriage. 
A  large  lady,  trying  to  get  out,  screamed  and 
slipped.  Catching  her,  Taliaferro  restored  her 
equilibrium  of  body,  if  not  of  mind.  Two  girls 
sprang  lightly  out. 

"  Are  you  hurt  ?  "  asked  Taliaferro,  in  French. 

"No,  Monsieur,"  said  one.  She  wore  the 
Spanish  mantilla,  —  that  thing  of  lace  and  grace 
which  makes  a  woman  look  enchanting,  only 
more  so,  - —  with  feminine  enchantment,  —  in 
short,  encwitadora  !  The  word  says  "  Adore  !  " 
The  eyes  of  Taliaferro  did  it,  for  the  girl  was 
lovely.  Under  his  gaze,  her  pallor  departed. 

An  Indian  porter  seized  the  fallen  horse  by 
the  tail,  and  tried  to  lift  it  bodily  to  its  feet. 
The  man's  strength  was  such  that  he  had  a 
chance  of  success,  —  if  the  tail  did  not  pull  out. 
The  American  quietly  but  with  feeling  went  and 
kicked  the  mozo.  He  explained  afterward  that 
he  had  forgotten  the  Spanish  for  "  desist,"  and 
was  compelled  to  resort  to  the  language  of  signs. 
When  he  unbuckled  the  trace,  the  horse  got  up. 


THE  PASEO  7 

The  footman  had  descended,  but  the  coachman 
was  still  on  the  box  preserving  his  dignity.  Two 
or  three  servants  readjusted  the  harness.  A  cor 
pulent  colonel  of  Mexican  hussars  looked  on 
with  interest.  The  stream  of  the  Paseo  was 
flowing  around  the  halted  carriage.  Every  one 
in  town  would  see.  Sarnette,  having  reduced 
his  beast  to  decency,  rattled  off  a  voluble  apology, 
which  the  large  senora  received  with  a  pardon 
able  absence  of  cordiality.  The  vivacious  little 
senorita,  whom  the  American  had  scarcely  noticed, 
made  amends  by  at  least  four  arch  glances  at  the 
chasseur.  Her  fan,  as  it  happened,  concealed 
her  face  from  the  senora,  but  not  from  the 
sergeant.  Even  two  looks  mean  something  in  a 
land  where  girls  do  not  receive  men's  calls,  and 
courtship  itself  is  at  long  range. 

Taliaferro  brushed  some  broken  glass  from  the 
seats.  The  girl  who  had  spoken  to  him  stepped 
in  last,  and  let  him  have  the  look  he  wanted  into 
her  big,  dark  eyes.  He  felt  a  thrill,  as  though 
he  had  breathed  some  enervating  perfume. 

"  Thank  you,  sir,"  said  she,  in  contralto  tones, 
her  smile  revealing  lovely  little  corners  where  her 
lips  met. 

"  No  cause,  Mademoiselle,"  said  his  lips.  "  You 
beauty,  you  beauty ! "  said  his  eyes,  "  are  you 
the  dreamed-of  one  ?  " 

And  her  eyes  answered,  "  Wouldn't  it  be  nice 
to  be  friends,  Caballero  ?  " 

The  carriage  bore  her  away. 


II 

FULCHERI'S 

WITH  a  curious  look  at  Sarnette  and  Talia- 
ferro,  the  corpulent  colonel  rode  away. 

For  a  moment  the  two  men  gazed  after  the 
carriage.  Then,  lighting  up,  their  eyes  came  back 
to  each  other.  Springing  from  his  horse,  the  ser 
geant  embraced  his  friend. 

"  My  dear  old  Taliaferro ! "  he  exclaimed. 
«  Who'd  have  thought  to  meet  you  here  ?  " 

"  Or  you,  my  aristocrat,"  said  Taliaferro,  "  but 
I'm  mighty  glad  of  it.  For  two  days  I've  been 
in  this  place  like  a  lost  soul.  The  sight  of  you 
gives  resurrection  to  beautiful,  dead  days.  Think 
of  it  —  five  years  ago  !  But  who  is  that  girl  ?  " 

"  The  one  with  the  laughing  eyes  ?  " 

«  The  other  —  the  beauty." 

"  Who  knows  ?  "  said  Sarnette.  "  There  are 
many  like  that  here." 

"  I  don't  doubt  it,  my  dear  lady-killer,  but  isn't 
there  some  way  to  find  out  about  this  one  ?  " 

"  Hilario  Marquando  knows  every  one.  I'll 
introduce  you  to  him.  First  of  all  you  and  I 
must  celebrate  this  meeting  at  Fulcheri's." 

A  pair  of  Municipal  Guards,  who  had  been 
8 


FULCHERFS  9 

playing  equestrian  statue,  rode  over  and  gruffly 
ordered  the  sergeant  to  move  on. 

"  Are  your  orders  to  address  gentlemen  po 
litely  ?  "  inquired  Sarnette,  with  ironic  sweetness. 

The  guard  looked  again  at  the  sergeant's  chev 
rons,  « to  make  sure,"  as  Taliaferro  said,  "  that  it 
wasn't  Marshal  Bazaine." 

"  Pardon,"  said  the  guard,  "  but  it  is  forbidden 
to  remain  dismounted  on  the  Paseo." 

"  That's  better,"  said  Sarnette,  turning  to 
mount.  «  Just  walk  up  to  Charley's  statue  there, 
Rod,  and  I'll  join  you." 

Reaching  "  Charley's  "  statue,  that  of  the  Em 
peror  Charles  IV,  Sarnette  dismounted,  hired  a 
native  to  lead  his  horse,  took  Taliaferro's  arm, 
and  walked  toward  his  quarters. 

"  Fulcheri's,"  he  explained,  "  is  in  the  Street  of 
the  Refuge,  rightly  named,  for  there  I  escape  the 
soldier's  brown  beans  and  soup." 

"  How  long  have  you  been  a  soldier,  Fernand  ?  " 
asked  Taliaferro. 

"  About  a  year." 

"  How  did  it  happen  ?  " 

"The  roof  of  my  Auvergne  chateau  fell  in. 
My  uncle,  the  Due  d'Aurillac  —  you  remember 
him  ?  —  paid  my  debts  on  condition  I'd  enter  the 
army  and  forswear  the  Muse.  He  had  the  bad 
taste  to  dislike  my  verses." 

"  How  is  it  possible  !  "  exclaimed  Taliaferro, 
laughing. 

"  Oh,  I  don't  write  sentimental  ones  any  more. 


10  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

I  had  slashed  some  of  his  friends,  and  he  sus 
pected  an  allusion  to  himself.  I  didn't  mean 
him,  but  if  the  shoe  fitted  — !"  Sarnette 
shrugged  his  shoulders.  "But  now,"  he  said, 
"  if  I  should  win  my  bars  in  battle,  the  old  man 
would  give  me  a  new  roof.  I'm  looking  for  a 
chance  to  go  north  and  chase  rebel  presidents. 
So  much  for  me.  How  long  will  you  be  here  ?  " 

"Always,"  said  Taliaferro. 

"  The  deuce  !  "  exclaimed  Sarnette.  "  It's  my 
turn  to  ask  how  it  happened." 

«  My  roof  also  has  fallen  in,"  answered  Talia 
ferro,  grimly.  "  I  burned  it ! " 

"  Are  you  crazy  ?     Why  did  you  do  that  ?  " 

"  I  would  not  live  under  the  heel  of  tyrants  !  " 
said  the  Southerner.  « I  would  not  leave  that 
house,  made  sacred  by  my  mother's  life  and  death, 
to  their  pollution  !  " 

"  I  don't  understand,"  said  the  other. 

"Don't  you  know  that  the  Confederacy  has  been 
smashed — wiped  out  by  numbers  and  dollars  !  " 

"Ah,  yes,"  said  Sarnette,  "  your  American  war. 
We  heard  of  it." 

"  You  surprise  me ! "  exclaimed  Taliaferro. 
"  Only  two  million  men  fighting !  Only  fifty 
odd  thousand  dead  and  wounded  on  a  single 
field,  and  yet  you  Frenchmen  are  aware  there's 
a  war  !  You  must  be  waking  up  !  " 

"  Mon  Dieu  !  "  cried  Sarnette,  "  why,  that  sur 
passes  the  scale  of  the  first  Napoleon  !  But  have 
you  been  exiled  ?  " 


FULCHERFS  11 

"My  father  and  brother  were  killed,"  said 
Taliaferro.  "My  mother  died  at  home  alone. 
Trusted  old  family  servants  left  her  in  the  night 
and  fled  to  the  Yankees.  When  all  New  Orleans 
was  licking  the  carpet-bagger's  boots,  I  went  to 
that  old  house  and  —  well,  here  I  am  ! " 

Sarnette  pressed  his  hand.  "  What  a  story  !  " 
he  said,  "  what  a  tragic  story !  And  you,"  he 
added,  looking  intently  at  his  friend,  —  "five 
years  ago  you  had  a  soul  soft  and  rich  like  pure 
gold.  Now  one  looks  and  sees  that  you  are  steel. 
Your  jaw  has  a  different  shape." 

"  Naturally  one  changes,"  said  Taliaferro.  "  I 
was  twenty-two." 

"That  Italian  name  of  yours,  which  you've 
corrupted  into  Tolliver,  means  '  Swordcut,' "  said 
Sarnette.  "  It  fits  you  now." 

"  Fernand,"  said  Taliaferro,  "  there  are  times 
when  I  feel  like  throwing  you  through  a  window." 

"  Praise  God  there's  none  here  !  "  said  Fernand. 
"  Here  are  my  quarters.  As  we  say  in  Spanish, 
1  They  are  yours.'  " 

"  Are  you  quartered  in  a  convent  ? "  asked 
Taliaferro,  reading  in  the  portal  the  half  obliter 
ated  words,  "  Oh,  blessed  solitude,  oh,  sole  beati 
tude  ! " 

"  It  was  a  convent.  You  shall  see  it  when  you 
sample  our  mess  —  to  see  how  a  soldier  lives.  I 
must  stable  my  horse,  and  see  my  captain.  Back 
in  a  minute." 

Sarnette  soon  emerged  from  the  convent-bar- 


12  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

racks  with  French  gold  jingling  in  his  pocket, 
and  the  two  friends  went  to  Fulcheri's. 

«  This  is  like  the  ambrosial  nights  of  old  at  the 
Cafe  Lyrique,"  said  Taliaferro,  over  the  lunch  and 
wine.  "  Do  you  remember,  Sarnette,  the  night  the 
gendarme  tried  to  arrest  us,  and  you  threatened  to 
shoot  him  with  your  house  key  ?  " 

"  Do  I ! "  exclaimed  Sarnette.  "  That  was  the 
night  you  had  the  audience  at  the  opera  rolling 
the  English  word  '  r-r-rats  ! '  and  thinking  it  was 
applause ! " 

"  How  sweetly  the  diva  bowed  her  acknowl 
edgments  ! "  laughed  Taliaferro. 

« And  how  <  the  handsome  American '  after 
ward  confessed,  and  the  diva  forgave  him,  and 
was  smitten,  and  Joseph  did  not  resist !  " 

"  We  were  only  good  chums,"  said  Taliaferro. 

"  I  thought  by  this  time  you'd  confess,"  said 
Sarnette ;  but  Taliaferro  insisted  there  was  noth 
ing  to  confess,  and  Sarnette  did  not  know  whether 
he  was  lying  or  not. 

For  an  hour  they  talked  of  Parisian  days  when 
the  Vicomte  de  Sarnette,  having  « done  his  hu 
manities,"  was  flirting  with  "  Our  Lady  the  Law," 
and  others,  while  young  Taliaferro,  son  of  a  noted 
American  diplomat,  amused  himself  in  society, 
studied  medicine,  read  scientific  books,  and 
thereby  formed  a  new  conception  of  the  world. 

"  What  do  you  propose  to  do  here  in  Mexico  ?  " 
asked  Sarnette,  filling  the  glasses  from  the  sec 
ond  bottle  of  claret. 


FULCHERI'S  13 

"  Take  service  with  the  Emperor,"  said  Talia- 
ferro. 

"  In  the  army  ?  "  said  Sarnette,  surprised. 

«  Yes." 

"  Do  you  mean  in  the  hospital  corps  ?  " 

"  In  the  cavalry,  by  preference." 

"  What  an  oyster  you  are ! "  exclaimed  Sarnette. 
"  Why  didn't  you  tell  me  you  were  a  soldier  ?  " 

"Did  you  think  I  stayed  home  when  men  of 
sixty  and  boys  of  sixteen  were  going  to  the 
front  ?  " 

"  What  was  your  rank  ?  "  asked  Sarnette. 

"  I  was  a  major  last  year." 

"  Well,  well,"  said  Sarnette,  "  and  so  you've 
led  your  squadron  into  battle  !  If  I'd  done  that, 
there'd  be  a  new  roof  on  the  Chateau  d'Issoire ! 
I  drink  to  your  Imperial  commission  ! " 

"  And  here's  to  yours,"  responded  Taliaferro, 
"  under  the  eagles  of  fair  France  !  " 

Their  lifted  voices  attracted  the  attention  of 
two  men  at  the  second  table  in  front  of  Taliaferro. 
One  was  a  colonel  in  black-braided,  crimson 
tunic  —  a  large  man  of  about  thirty.  His  red 
dish  hair  was  combed  to  conceal  its  thinness  on 
the  top  of  his  round  head.  He  had  rather  an 
agreeable  expression,  and  wore  the  iron  cross  of 
the  Legion  of  Honor.  The  other  man  was  in 
black  charro,  having  on  his  person  the  sword 
which  was  usually  strapped  to  the  saddle.  He 
looked  as  though  gods  and  devils  couldn't  stop 
him.  His  mustache  and  imperial  were  black, 


14  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

like  his  brilliant  eyes.  His  nose  was  hooked,  his 
forehead  widened  above  the  temples.  Behind  it 
were  brains. 

He  looked  over  his  shoulder  at  Taliaferro,  who 
was  startled  at  his  expression  of  ill-will.  In 
spite  of  his  surprise,  the  Confederate  returned  the 
stare  of  the  stranger,  who  turned  away  with  some 
remark  directed  to  his  companion. 

«  What  does  that  mean  ?  "  said  Taliaferro. 

"  What  ?  "  asked  Sarnette,  whose  back  was 
toward  the  strangers. 

"  Who  are  the  men  in  front  of  me  ?  " 

"  I  don't  know  them,"  said  the  sergeant,  "  but 
when  they  came  in  I  noticed  the  colonel's  uni 
form.  It  must  be  Lopez  of  the  crack  hussars, 
the  regiment  of  the  Empress.  He's  the  one 
who  took  so  much  interest  in  our  little  coach 
episode." 

"  Who  is  the  other  ?  "  asked  Taliaferro,  but 
Sarnette  did  not  know.  "  He  stared  at  me,"  said 
Taliaferro. 

"  Well,"  said  Sarnette,  «  you're  good  looking." 

"He  isn't  —  not  when  he  looks  at  me  like 
that ! " 

Sarnette  turned  to  look.  « Hello!"  he  ex 
claimed,  beckoning  gayly  to  a  young  cavalier, 
who  entered  with  jingling  spur  and  glittering 
sombrero.  As  he  passed  the  colonel  and  his 
friend,  the  newcomer  saluted  them.  Sarnette 
introduced  Senor  Don  Hilario  Marquando.  This 
youth  was  smaller  than  the  other  two his  figure 


FULCHERI'S  15 

and  features  perfect,  his  skin  clear,  lashes  long, 
hands  exquisite.  Sarnette  ordered  a  bottle  of 
Augier  Freres.  Taliaferro  started  to  ask  Mar- 
quando  who  the  stranger  was,  but  Sarnette  was 
bubbling  like  the  champagne. 

"  Don  Hilario  took  possession  of  Paris  after 
you  left,  Taliaferro,"  said  he.  "  Had  you  been 
there  together,  you  must  needs  have  divided  the 
city,  like  the  two  kings  of  Sparta." 

"  If  we  could  have  wrested  it  from  you,"  said 
Taliaferro. 

"  The  vicomte  loaned  me  the  city,"  said  Don 
Hilario. 

"  He  captured  it,  Taliaferro  —  took  it  by  storm. 
He  tried  to  give  it  to  me.  I  accepted  a  sub 
urb." 

"  Modestly  choosing  the  Faubourg  St.  Germain," 
said  the  other. 

"  You  should  have  seen  him  in  the  Elysee ! " 
said  Sarnette.  "  One  day  I  made  him  wear  his 
charro  togs.  A  female  seminary  fell  in  love  with 
him." 

"  This,  M.  Taliaferro,"  said  Marquando,  "  was 
the  seminary  which  slept  with  the  vicomte's 
'  Sword  and  Cross '  beneath  its  pillows." 

"  Its  morality  must  have  been  flawless," 
observed  Taliaferro. 

"  As  one  passed  it,"  continued  Marquando,  "  one 
heard  the  love-song  of  the  Maltese  knight  mur 
mured  through  the  casements  to  the  midnight 
stars." 


16  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

« I  will  not  have  you  calling  yourself  a  mid 
night  star,"  said  Sarnette. 

"  Vicomte  Sarnette ! 
For  thee,  for  thee  I  yearn. 
Do  not  forget  — 
Love's  rainbow  fire  doth  burn ! " 

crooned  Marquando. 

"  Hilario,"  said  Sarnette,  "  your  verses  set  my 
teeth  on  edge." 

"Not  unto  me  the  praise,"  said  Marquando. 
"That's  Mademoiselle  C.  F.'s.  He  called  her 
teeth  '  those  gates  of  pearl,'  M.  Taliaferro,  and 
found  afterward  she  kept  'em  nights  in  a 
tumbler." 

"  A  base  invention  !  "  cried  Sarnette.  "  That 
sonnet  was  to  another  C.  F.  —  the  fairest  of  her 
sex." 

"  Sen  or  Marquando,"  said  Taliaferro,  when  the 
dust  of  combat  settled,  "  I  nearly  cried  '  Bravo  ! ' 
this  morning  on  the  Paseo  when  you  picked  up 
that  handkerchief." 

"  Ah,  ha  ! "  went  Sarnette.  "  It  is  difficult  not 
to  drop  handkerchiefs  when  Marquando  rides 
by." 

Marquando  tapped  his  teeth. 

"  You'll  turn  those  teeth  into  tusks ! "  cried 
Sarnette. 

« No  worse  than  turning  a  handkerchief  into 
a  table-cloth." 

"  A  table-cloth  ! "  echoed  Sarnette.  "  When  is 
that  to  be  ?  " 


FULCHERI'S  17 

"  Who  knows  ?  "  sighed  Marquando. 

"  Alas  !  "  sighed  the  vicomte,  mocking.  "  One 
by  one  the  bachelors  fall !  " 

"  You  didn't  see  the  coach  Sarnette  ran  into 
this  morning,  did  you  ?  "  asked  Taliaferro. 

"  No.  Was  he  drunk  so  early  ? "  inquired 
Marquando,  solicitously. 

"  The  mere  sight  of  Rod  intoxicated  me," 
explained  Sarnette. 

"  In  the  coach,  by  the  way,"  said  Taliaferro, 
"  was  a  girl  I'd  like  to  meet." 

"  Meet  ?  "  repeated  Marquando,  blankly. 

"  Yes.     Call,  you  know." 

Marquando  gulped.  For  years  he  had  courted 
the  lady  of  the  handkerchief,  and  never  dreamed 
of  calling. 

"  My  dear  fellow,"  laughed  Sarnette',  "  you 
don't  call  here  until  after  you  are  the  betrothed 
of  the  lady  !  " 

"  How  get  into  that  interesting  condition  with 
out  calling  ?  "  demanded  the  American.  "  When 
do  you  get  acquainted  ?  " 

"  Afterward,"  said  Sarnette. 

"  Suppose  then  you  don't  like  her  ?  " 

"Avoid  her." 

"  There's  certainly  some  way,"  said  Taliaferro. 
"  You  don't  haul  off  and  write  a  proposal  of 
marriage  to  a  lady  you've  never  met !  " 

"  You  see  her  on  the  Paseo,  or  in  the  Alameda, 
or  at  mass,"  explained  Marquando.  "  You  follow 
her  home,  you  walk  beneath  her  balcony." 


18  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

«  A  technical  process  called  « playing  the  bear,' " 
added  Sarnette. 

«  At  first  you  will  not  see  her,"  continued  the 
other  expert.  «  You  keep  going.  She  finds  out 
who  you  are.  She  comes  out  on  her  mirador, 
pretending  she  didn't  know  you  were  there. 
Later,  she  looks,  smiles,  says  things  with  her 
fan." 

« Is  there  a  dictionary  for  that  ?  "  asked  the 
American. 

«  Watch  it  once  and  you  won't  need  one,"  said 
Sarnette. 

"  After  that,"  went  on  Marquando,  "  you  may 
follow  her  carriage,  or  kneel  near  her  in  church, 
where  her  lips  will  form  words  that  you  see  and 
understand.  She  talks  to  you  from  her  balcony. 
Some  day,  she  lets  down  her  mantilla  for  a  note 
which  you  tie  in  the  corner,  and  again  —  with  a 
note  tied  in  the  corner." 

"  You  Latins  are  wonderfully  frank,"  said 
Taliaferro.  "  We  Northerners  would  be  afraid  of 
ridicule  if  we  did  things  like  that  in  public." 

"  Every  one  does  it,"  said  Marquando,  naively. 
"  We  supplicate  the  Virgin  publicly,  and  she  is 
much  holier  than  the  girl  one  loves." 

"  You  can't  learn  to  know  a  girl  this  way  — 
at  long  range,"  objected  Taliaferro. 

"  Yes,"  said  Marquando,  dreamily,  "  her  pride 
you  see  in  the  poise  of  her  head ;  her  modesty  in 
the  fall  of  dark-fringed  lids ;  her  gayety  in  the 
salute  of  the  exquisite  hand  which  proves  her 


FULCHERI'S  19 

birth.  You  see  her  give  her  hand  to  her  mother 
to  help  her  from  her  carriage.  When  her  kneel 
ing  form  bends  forward  in  appeal,  you  see  her 
unassumed  devotion  and  humility.  You  read  the 
subtle  harmonies  of  her  voice.  But  her  eyes  !  In 
the  luminous  velvet  of  her  eyes  you  see  the 
woman's  soul  —  its  very  gleam  and  texture  ! " 

"  A  charming  '  Vision  of  Woman,'  "  said  Talia- 
ferro,  "  or  perhaps  —  of  a  woman.  But  as  for  me, 
I  must  find  out  what  the  girl  thinks  —  if  she  does 
think,  whether  she's  unselfish,  whether  her  tastes 
are  congenial.  I  want  to  know  her  as  I  know 
Sarnette  here,  without  the  glamour  of  romance." 

"  Give  me  the  perfect  glamour  for  one  day, 
and  let  me  die  ! "  exclaimed  Marquando.  The 
idealist's  hyperbole  had  such  conviction  that  the 
three  young  fellows  sat  for  a  moment  reading, 
each  in  his  own  way,  the  heart  of  life.  Through 
the  murmur  of  talk  at  other  tables,  they  heard 
the  plash  of  water  in  the  palm-surrounded  foun 
tain  of  the  patio. 

Over  the  flat  roofs  came  the  pure  and  mourn 
ful  voice  of  a  flute.  Across  Taliaferro  swept 
the  nostalgia  of  things  forever  gone.  The  flute 
yearned,  disconsolate,  for  some  impossible,  brill 
iant  bliss  ;  the  water  plashed  in  the  pool ;  the 
ancient  city  drowsed  in  the  noonday  heat.  In  a 
spell  wrought  by  music,  the  face  of  the  unknown 
girl,  framed  in  its  rich  mantilla,  became  to  him  a 
type  of  that  unattainable  loveliness  which  haunts 
and  draws  us  through  the  world,  receding  before 


20  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

us,  step  by  step,  remaining  a  vision  only,  till  the 
day  we  go  down  to  the  grave,  and  the  wistful 
ones  who  loved  us,  projecting  the  vision  on  eter 
nal  darkness,  call  it  Heaven. 

"As  for  me,"  said  Sarnette,  pouring  out  the 
last  drops  of  champagne,  "  give  me  the  glamour 
for  one  day,  and  then  —  then  give  it  to  me  again ! 
The  wine  of  love  being  drained,  the  wise  man 
opens  a  fresh  bottle.  Waiter !  Bring  us  a  fresh 
bottle  —  of  wine,  waiter,  not  of  love  —  a  cob 
webby  bottle  of  wine  ! " 

"  There  goes  another  hole  in  the  roof  of  Sar- 
nette's  chateau,"  said  Taliaferro.  "  This  one's 
mine,  Fernand." 

"  To-morrow,  sir.  To-day  you  are  my  guest  in 
Mexico ! " 

"  At  the  bottom  of  this  bottle,  M.  Taliaferro," 
said  Marquando,  "  our  friend  will  present  you 
with  the  city  of  my  birth.  While  there  is  time, 
let  me  say  that  No.  14,  Calle  de  Zuleta,  is  al 
ready  yours." 

"If  my  plans  succeed,"  said  Taliaferro,  " I  will 
accept  your  hospitality,  not  as  a  stranger,  but  as 
a  fellow-resident." 

"  I  drink  to  the  success  of  your  plans,"  said 
Marquando. 

"To  General  Taliaferro,"  toasted  Sarnette. 
"  Taliaferro  wants  a  commission,  Hilario,"  he  ex 
plained.  «  Can  you  help  him  ?  " 

"Not  since  the  Emperor  has  turned  out  the 
Conservative  Cabinet,"  said  Marquando. 


FULCHERI'S  21 

"  I  have  a  letter  to  my  countryman,  Commo 
dore  Maury,  Commissioner  of  Immigration,"  said 
Taliaferro.  "  Has  he  much  influence  ?  " 

"  I  don't  know,"  said  Marquando.  "  But  right 
there  at  the  second  table,  his  back  this  way,  is  a 
man  who  has." 

"  Who  is  that  man  ?  "  asked  Taliaferro,  with 
interest,  perceiving  that  Marquando  meant  the 
man  who  had  given  him  the  peculiar  look. 

"  That  is  General  Jose  de  Castro.  He  was  a 
Republican  until  about  a  month  ago,  when  the 
French  entered  his  big  estate  in  Durango.  That's 
Colonel  Miguel  Lopez  with  him.  The  Emperor 
is  working  through  Lopez  to  get  De  Castro  into 
the  army." 

"  Is  De  Castro  a  friend  of  yours  ?  "  asked  Talia 
ferro. 

"  An  acquaintance.  But  I  might  get  him  to 
help  you." 

"  I'd  rather  you  wouldn't,"  said  Taliaferro. 

"  The  man  looked  at  him,"  explained  Sarnette. 
"  Rod  doesn't  allow  people  to  look  at  him." 

"  After  all,"  said  Marquando,  "  De  Castro  is 
something  of  a  brigand.  He  did  some  dare-devil 
things  in  the  war  of  the  Reform,  but  had  a  dis 
agreeable  little  way  of  shooting  prisoners  of 
war." 

"  And  the  Emperor  wants  him  in  the  army  ! " 
exclaimed  Taliaferro. 

"  He's  trying  to  conciliate  the  Liberals.  They 
take  office  —  they'd  take  an  office  from  anybody 


22  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

but  at  heart  they're  all  for  the  Republic.  De 

Castro's  brother,  Don  Pedro,  is  still  Minister  of 
Justice  in  the  so-called  cabinet  of  Juarez  up 
on  the  frontier  somewhere.  Did  you  hear  the 
Emperor's  speech  to-day  ?  " 

"  No,"  said  Sarnette. 

"  He  announced  that  he  has  adopted  as  his  son 
and  heir  the  grandson  of  our  old  Emperor  Itur- 
bide,  who  was  shot  in  '21.  He  pleaded  with 
every  one  to  bury  party  hatred  and  join  hands. 
He  doesn't  understand.  Reconcile  Clericals  and 
Liberals  !  Wipe  out  fifty  years  of  fire  and  sword 
with  half  an  hour's  fine  talk  ! " 

"You're  right,"  said  Sarnette.  "Maximilian 
must  be  one  thing  or  the  other  politically,  and 
he's  trying  to  be  both." 

"  How  big  is  the  army  ?  "  asked  Taliaferro. 

«  There  are  forty  thousand  of  our  troops,"  said 
Sarnette.  "Marshal  Bazaine  had  the  Imperial 
army  itself  up  to  twenty  thousand,  but  when 
the  Emperor  came  a  year  ago,  he  appointed  a 
committee  to  formulate  a  project  for  an  army, 
and  the  twenty  thousand  have  shrunk  to  four 
teen." 

"  That's  it ! "  cried  Marquando.  "  Maximilian 
would  rather  have  a  perfect  army  in  a  pigeon 
hole  than  a  fair  one  in  the  field !  " 

« You  ought  to  get  in  with  that  hussar  regi 
ment,  Taliaferro,"  said  Sarnette,  nodding  back 
toward  the  crimson-coated  colonel.  «  You  know 
Lopez,  don't  you,  Hilario  ?  " 


FULCHERI'S       •  23 

«  Yes." 

"  They're  asking  for  their  check,"  said  Sarnette. 
"  You'd  better  introduce  Taliaferro  now." 

"  With  pleasure,"  said  Marquando,  rising.  The 
waiter  was  handing  helmet  and  sombrero  to 
Lopez  and  De  Castro.  "  One  moment,  if  you 
please,  gentlemen,"  said  Marquando,  stepping 
toward  them. 

The  two  stopped.  Again  Taliaferro  saw  De 
Castro's  eyes  turn  upon  him  with  that  singular 
expression  of  malevolence.  Marquando  did  not 
notice  it. 

"  I  should  like  to  make  you  acquainted  with 
my  friends,"  he  sa.id,  —  «  the  Vicomte  de  Sarnette 
and  Major  Taliaferro  of  the  Confederate  army." 

Those  gentlemen  rose. 

"  I  beg  your  pardon,  Seiior  Marquando,"  began 
Colonel  Lopez,  uneasily,  "  but  —  the  fact  is  —  " 

"  I  decline  to  meet  them  !  "  said  De  Castro. 

"  What !  "  gasped  Marquando. 

"  They  can  have  another  sort  of  meeting  when 
ever  they  like  !  "  said  De  Castro,  and  followed  by 
Lopez  he  marched  from  the  room. 

The  trio  stared.  Simultaneously  they  shattered 
the  silence,  and  for  a  moment  each  man  said 
things  not  loud  but  deep  in  his  mother-tongue. 

"  The  blackguard  shall  answer  me  for  that 
insult ! "  exclaimed  Marquando,  seizing  his  som 
brero. 

"  Hold  on  !  "  cried  Sarnette,  "  the  insult  wasn't 
meant  for  you  !  " 


2-1  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

"  What  did  he  say  ? "  asked  Taliaferro,  who 
had  not  understood  the  Spanish  of  De  Castro. 

"  He  declined  the  introduction  proposed  by 
me  !  "  said  Marquando. 

"  No,"  said  Sarnette,  "  he  declined  to  meet  us  !  " 

"  Another  sort  of  meeting ! "  repeated  Mar 
quando,  hearing  only  De  Castro's  stinging  words. 
"  I'll  give  him  his  meeting  !  " 

"  He  suggested  a  meeting  with  us,"  insisted 
Sarnette. 

"  Didn't  he  specify  me  ? "  asked  Taliaferro, 
thinking  of  the  hostile  look. 

"  He'd  have  met  any  one  else,  Marquando,"  said 
Sarnette. 

"  He  doesn't  know  you,"  retorted  Marquando. 
"  What  can  he  have  against  you  ?  M.  Taliaferro 
has  not  been  here  two  days." 

"  Long  enough  to  exchange  words  with  a 
lady,"  said  Sarnette,  significantly. 

"  A  lady  !  "  cried  Marquando,  stifling  the  word 
before  it  was  half  uttered.  "  Then  why  in  the 
name  of  all  that's  holy  didn't  you  tell  me  before 
I  —  " 

"  I  didn't  know  it  before,"  protested  Sarnette. 

"  What  do  you  mean  ?  "  asked  Taliaferro. 

"Here  sits  Lopez,"  said  Sarnette.  "He  tells 
De  Castro  of  our  affair  on  the  Paseo.  De  Castro 
is  evidently  interested  there  himself  —  do  you 
see  ?  —  and  has  a  jealous  fit !  " 

"  But  how  childish  !  "  said  Taliaferro.  "  What 
does  that  chance  meeting  of  ours  amount  to  ?  " 


FULCHERI'S  25 

"  Why,  man,  you  talked  to  the  girl,  —  you're  in 
Mexico,  now.  There  was  a  little  gold  '  M  '  on  the 
panel,  Hilario.  You  can't  guess  who  it  was,  can 
you  —  two  good-looking  girls  and  a  fat  lady  — 
bay  horses,  brown  and  white  livery  ?  " 

"  The  Medina  girls  and  their  aunt,"  said  Mar- 
quando. 

"  Is  De  Castro  in  love  with  one  of  them  ? " 
asked  Sarnette. 

The  Mexican  gentleman  frowned.  "  Do  you 
take  me  for  an  Ulcahuete  ?  "  muttered  he. 

"  What's  the  matter  now  ?  "  wondered  the  be 
wildered  Taliaferro. 

"  Come,  come,  Hilario,"  said  Sarnette.  "  I  didn't 
ask  you  to  spy  out  anybody's  love-affairs.  I 
thought  you  might  know,  that's  all." 

But  if  Hilario  knew,  he  did  not  tell,  for  Sar 
nette  had  run  into  a  supersensitive  reticence 
about  other  men's  love-making,  on  the  part  of  the 
young  lover  who  let  the  whole  world  see  the  pro 
cess  of  his  own. 

With  ruffled  tempers,  the  three  parted,  agree 
ing  to  meet  at  noon  next  day  at  the  quarters  of 
the  Twelfth  Chasseurs.  Meanwhile,  Sarnette 
meant  to  investigate  and  prove  his  theory. 


Ill 

THE    CATHEDRAL 

NEXT  morning,  Taliaferro  loitered  out  of  the 
Iturbide  hotel  with  three  hours  to  kill.  The 
early  sunlight  rested  on  gleaming,  tinted  walls 
of  flat-roofed  buildings,  which  cut  the  sky's  pro 
found  and  smokeless  blue.  Water-carriers  went 
into  arched  entrances  with  yokes  of  red  clay  jars  ; 
burros  passed,  and  priests,  and  well-dressed  girls 
by  twos  and  threes.  The  Confederate  read  an 
announcement  of  Sunday's  bull-fight. 

"  Why,  that's  to-morrow,"  mused  he ;  "  I  must 
see  that ! " 

The  placard  said  Bernardo  Gavino,  the  great 
est  living  matador,  was  coming  from  San  Luis 
to  open  the  season  in  the  capital.  The  names 
of  six  bulls  were  given.  They  were  advertised 
as  the  fiercest  of  the  hacienda  of  Atenco. 

Passing  on,  Taliaferro  bought  a  bunch  of 
velvety  violets  from  a  little  Indian  girl  who 
carried  a  baby  brother  half  as  big  as  herself 
—  the  only  doll  she  had  ever  known.  A  small 
boy  with  irresistible  eyes  wheedled  him  for  a 
centavo. 

26 


THE   CATHEDRAL  27 

"  Blithe  little  beggar,"  said  Taliaferro,  and 
dropped  in  the  brown  hand  a  shiny  ten-centavo 
piece. 

The  boy  stared.  "  For  me  ?  "  he  said.  This 
was  beyond  the  dreams  of  avarice.  With  a 
"  Thank  you,  sir  !  "  he  danced,  he  ran.  Curious 
to  see  what  he  would  do,  Taliaferro  followed. 
The  urchin  consulted  a  glum-looking  mozo,  and 
then  went  skipping  around  a  corner  to  a  butcher's 
stall.  The  pans  of  the  brass  scales  came  to  bal 
ance  on  their  long  chains,  and  for  six  of  his  ten 
centavos  the  child  became  the  possessor  of  a 
little  steak,  laid  neatly  on  green  leaves. 

"  What's  this,  lad  ?  "  demanded  a  deep  voice. 

The  boy  nearly  dropped  his  treasure.  The 
speaker  was  a  priest  with  sensual  face  and 
greasy  cassock. 

"  I  bought  it,  Padre,"  said  the  boy.  "  You  can 
ask  the  butcher.  See,  I  have  still  four  centavos 
to  buy  pancakes." 

"  But  wThat  will  you  do  with  this  meat,  child  ?  " 

"  My  mother  will  cook  it." 

"  Do  you  not  know  that  to-day  is  a  fast  day  ?  " 

"I  —  I  did  not  think,  Padre,"  said  the  boy, 
not  knowing  that  his  age  exempted  him.  Brief- 
lived  felicity !  This  was  the  only  possible  feast- 
day  in  his  calendar. 

"  Four  centavos  is  all  too  little,"  said  the  priest, 
"  but  in  view  of  your  ignorance,  give  them  to  me, 
and  eat  your  meat  without  sin." 

Mutely  the  boy  held  out  the  coins,  but  the  out- 


28  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

stretched  hand  of  the  priest  was  smitten  down 
by  Taliaferro. 

« You  low-lived  old  scoundrel !  "  exclaimed 
this  new  «  Protector  of  the  Indians." 

The  priest  gave  one  scared  look  and  fled.  He 
knew  he  was  not  in  his  rights,  and  the  stranger 
looked  murderous. 

Taliaferro  found  Spanish  enough  to  tell  the 
child  it  was  no  sin  to  eat. 

"  Yes,  sir,"  said  the  awe-struck  youngster,  who 
received  another  ten-centavo  piece,  and  went  off 
with  dark  wonderings  about  this  stranger  who 
lavished  riches  and  scared  padres. 

« No  wonder  the  clergy  owned  one-third  of 
this  country  ! "  thought  Taliaferro,  as  he  walked 
on.  "  No  wonder  Juarez  confiscated  their  es 
tates,  and  fought  the  war  of  the  Reform  !  No 
wonder  Maximilian  now  turns  his  back  on  the 
Clericals  who  elected  him  !  " 

Three  aristocratic  girls  turned  into  the  Street 
of  the  Refuge.  They  carried  prayer-books,  and 
one  had  a  pink  rosary.  One,  whose  black  skirt 
was  trimmed  with  white,  had  a  lovely  figure. 
Taliaferro  passed  them,  stopped  in  front  of  Ful- 
cheri's,  and  waited  for  them  to  go  by.  The  girl 
with  the  pretty  figure  gave  him  a  languishing 
glance  —  a  glance  that  left  no  mystery  in  her, 
and  she  ceased  to  attract. 

"  Not  much  like  that  other  girl ! "  thought  the 
man,  and  strolled  on  into  the  Plaza  toward  the 
Cathedral. 


THE   CATHEDRAL  29 

The  bases  of  its  towers  were  grim  as  a  fortress, 
but  one-third  of  the  way  up,  the  pillared  and  win 
dowed  walls  burst  into  bloom  of  wreath  and 
scroll  and  niche  and  balustrade.  It  was  like 
sackcloth  under  silk,  Lenten  ashes  under  Easter 
flowers,  a  symbol  in  stone  of  the  social  structure 
of  Indian  serf  and  Spanish  cavalier. 

At  its  feet  were  little  booths,  full  of  books, 
flowers,  sweetmeats,  cool  drinks,  and  birds  for 
sale.  Captive  clarions  were  singing  of  free  fields 
and  far-off  isles  —  celebrating  the  blitheness  of 
unchristian  Nature  to  the  undertone  of  melan 
choly  organ  music,  muffled  behind  stone  walls. 

Walking  magnificently  over  the  grass-grown 
flagstones  went  dainty  women,  dropping  coppers 
in  the  outstretched  cups  of  loathsome  beggars. 
Young  men  passed  in,  some  in  the  height  of 
Parisian  fashion,  others  in  charro,  fresh  from  a 
morning  canter. 

Taliaferro  entered.  In  a  perfunctory  way,  a 
priest  and  his  assistant  were  celebrating  mass. 
Along  the  walls  and  about  the  columns  knelt  one 
or  two  hundred  people,  —  tortilla-girls  and  street- 
sweepers  near  immaculate  dames  and  cavaliers. 
Indian  sandal  and  high-heeled  shoe  were  all  one 
there  on  that  floor  of  hewn  wooden  blocks. 

The  American  caught  sight  of   the  girl  with 
white-trimmed  skirt.     Her  face  was  turned  from 
her    companions,    and    her    eyes    were    fixed  - 
could    it    be  ?  —  upon    him.       Her    lips    silently 
formed  a   message.     He  quickly   looked  behind 


30  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

him,  but  there  was  no  one  there.  He  looked 
back  at  the  girl.  Again  the  visible  words.  Had 
she  been  more  attractive,  Taliaferro  might  have 
assumed  that  those  silent  syllables  meant  "  Fol 
low  me  after  mass."  As  it  was,  he  strolled  down 
one  of  the  aisles,  looking  at  the  carved  wood  grat 
ings  of  the  lateral  chapels. 

The  service  ended,  and  people  drifted  out.  A 
priest  entered  a  confessional ;  a  woman  knelt  be 
fore  his  grated  window.  A  few  fashionable  men 
still  lingered  near  the  onyx  font  beside  the  door. 
A  few  well-dressed  girls  still  knelt  before  the 
shrines  of  favorite  chapels.  Taliaferro  crossed 
behind  the  central  altar,  and  was  coming  up  the 
east  aisle.  On  the  steps  of  a  chapel,  near  the 
passage  into  the  Sagrario,  knelt  a  girl. 

Losing  his  air  of  well-bred  indifference,  Talia 
ferro  halted,  surprised  into  a  broad  stare.  It  was 
the  Senorita  of  the  Coach.  He  had  pretty  well 
given  up  the  idea  of  seeing  her  again,  when  he 
had  learned  that  he  could  never  call.  At  the 
pausing  footstep,  she  looked  up,  her  face  beauti 
ful  with  some  real  prayer.  She  was  kneeling 
before  the  chapel  consecrated  to  the  repose  of 
her  mother's  soul.  There  was  a  quick  gleam 
of  surprised  recognition,  and  —  did  he  fancy 
it?  —  of  pleasure.  Then,  in  confusion,  her  eyes 
fell ;  and  confounding  his  rudeness,  the  man 
turned  away.  Yes,  he  had  stared,  and  yet  — 
how  natural  to  look  at  hair  with  adorable  little 
ripples  half  hidden  beneath  black  lace.  And  that 


THE   CATHEDRAL  31 

fetching  little  twist  that  carried  the  lace  over  the 
lofty  comb.  For  an  instant  he  had  seen,  not  the 
pure,  low  brow,  the  clear  contour  of  cheek  and 
chin,  the  faithful-looking  eyes,  but  the  indwell 
ing  soul  of  these. 

He  determined  to  see  those  eyes  again,  started 
to  turn  back,  and  then,  deciding  to  wait  till  he 
should  not  be  intruding  upon  her  devotions,  he 
strolled  back  and  forth  between  her  and  the  en 
trance.  He  failed  to  notice  a  man  in  black 
charro,  who  stood  near  the  font.  The  man, 
however,  noticed  Taliaferro  very  well  indeed, 
watching  like  a  hawk  every  glance  and  turn  he 
made. 

Taliaferro  was  wondering  whether  the  girl's 
thoughts  had  room  for  him,  or  had  gone  back 
to  the  solemn  world  from  which  his  gaze  had 
drawn  them.  Before  rising,  she  crossed  herself, 
and  he  found  it  incongruous  that  a  woman  with 
the  soul  of  religion  in  her  eyes  should  employ  its 
mere  outward  forms.  As  she  rose,  her  daintily 
lifted  skirt  revealed,  longer  than  was  strictly  need 
ful,  a  high-heeled  shoe  and  silken  instep. 

"  Ah,  coquette,"  thought  he. 

Her  maid  did  not  perceive  that  she  was  ready 
to  go.  Unwilling  to  interrupt  the  servant's  de 
votions,  the  lady  stood  waiting  —  a  pleasant  little 
touch  for  Taliaferro's  all  too  sketchy  portrait  of 
her  mind.  When  Pepita's  beads  were  told,  the 
lady  came.  She  came  with  something  of  the 
famed  meneo  —  that  indescribable,  slight  undula- 


32  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

tion,  which  has  its  name  in  Spanish  only,  be 
cause  patricians  of  Spanish  blood  are  the  only 
women  who  can  pass  from  one  place  to  another 
with  the  indolent  grace  of  a  yacht  in  an  easy 
swell.  With  that  and  her  mantilla,  a  woman 
could  almost  dispense  with  beauty.  Unfortu 
nately  for  his  peace,  the  girl  approaching  Talia- 
ferro  had  all  three.  On  the  bosom  of  her  black 
gown  trembled  white  violets,  softly  sinking  and 
rising. 

"  Will  she  look  ?  "  he  wondered.  He  certainly 
gave  her  the  chance,  for  he  passed  close  and 
slowly,  face  to  face.  Royally  she  came,  but  — 
oh,  disappointment  —  without  looking.  And 
then,  when  he  had  given  up,  she  did  look  after 
all,  with  the  gleam  of  a  smile  on  parted  lips,  and 
swift-veiled  eyes  that  met  his,  not  demurely 
quite,  you  couldn't  say  frankly  —  he  felt  him 
self  in  a  little  wake  of  violet  fragrance.  Hint 
ing  many  things,  the  look  said  none  of  them  or 
all.  Like  a?,  it  meant  what  he  chose  to  make 
it,  and  imagining  that  she  herself  knew  the 
answer,  the  man  sought  it.  His  problem  was 
complicated  by  the  fairy  fragrance. 

He  remembered  the  words  of  Marquando,  «  You 
see  her  at  mass,  you  follow  her  home,  you  walk 
beneath  her  balcony."  Was  he,  Taliaferro,  a  sen 
sible  Anglo-Saxon,  going  to  do  such  an  absurd 
Spanish  thing  as  "play  the  bear"?  It  is  cer 
tain  that  after  a  few  steps  he  turned  to  follow. 

Then,  for  the  first  time,  he  saw,  beyond  the 


THE   CATHEDRAL  33 

girl,  the  man  in  black  charro.  He  was  startled, 
for  the  man  was  De  Castro  —  very  manifestly 
waiting  for  the  girl  to  pass.  Sarnette's  expla 
nation  of  De  Castro's  conduct  in  Fulcheri's  looked 
more  plausible. 

The  girl,  by  custom,  would  touch  her  forehead 
with  the  holy  water,  but  seeing  the  man  by  the 
font,  she  hesitated  an  instant,  and  looked  back 
toward  Pepita.  Possibly  she  saw  Taliaferro  also. 
Then  she  went  on,  and  dipped  her  fingers  in  the 
font. 

"  I  see  your  conversation  on  the  Paseo  bears 
quick  fruit,  Senorita  Felise ! "  said  De  Castro. 

"  Do  you  think  so  ?  "  said  the  girl,  coolly. 

"An  appointment  at  first  sight,"  said  he, 
"  strikes  an  outsider  as  a  little  forward." 

"  Forward  !  "  echoed  she.  "  Under  the  circum 
stances,  Don  Jose,  the  word  from  you  is  amusing." 

"  He  won't  find  it  amusing,"  threatened  he. 

"  I  advise  you  not  to  quarrel  with  any  man  on 
my  account,"  said  she.  "  Much  as  my  father 
seems  to  desire  you  for  a  son-in-law,  he  would 
not  sanction  that." 

"  I  suppose  he  will  sanction  this,"  said  De  Cas 
tro,  indicating  Taliaferro  by  a  quick  gesture. 

"  Your  suspicions  are  ridiculous ! "  said  she, 
flushing. 

"  Do  you  think  I  didn't  see  that  smile  of  yours  ?  " 
demanded  he.  "  If  it  goes  on,  I'll  kill  the  —  " 
He  stopped. 

"  '  I  promise  to  kill  this  bull  if  he  does  not  kill 


34  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

me,' "  mocked  she,  quoting  the  dedication  of  the 
matador  Gavifio. 

"  My  sword  is  sharper  than  your  tongue,"  said 
he. 

She  was  at  the  door.  Suppressing  some  sting 
ing  word,  she  smiled  pleasantly,  and  changed  her 
tone.  "  For  the  sake  of  my  good  name,  no  quar 
rels,  Don  Jose.  Adios  !  " 

She  went  out.  She  really  feared  De  Castro, 
but  never  let  him  see  it,  and  therefore  mastered 
him.  She  did  not  intend  to  let  him  master  her, 
but  the  risk  was  there,  and  she  knew  it.  It  fas 
cinated  her  as  glittering  pesos  fascinate  the 
devotees  of  roulette  at  Tacubaya.  In  this  game 
of  the  girl  the  stake  was  higher. 

For  a  moment  De  Castro  basked  in  the  mem 
ory  of  -her  smile.  Then  he  scowled.  "  Yes," 
thought  he,  "  but  that  sweet  look  was  only  to 
keep  me  from  hurting  him  !  " 

Taliaferro  was  approaching  the  door.  Seeing 
the  man  and  the  girl  talk  publicly,  the  American 
concluded,  in  the  light  of  Marquando's  discourse, 
that  they  were  betrothed,  and  somehow  the  idea 
was  not  very  pleasant.  In  any  case,  De  Castro's 
insolence  of  yesterday  was  an  unpaid  score. 

For  his  part,  De  Castro  was  determined  that 
Taliaferro  should  not  follow  the  lady.  "  You'd 
better  stay  inside  awhile,"  he  said  in  English. 

Taliaferro  did  not  seem  to  hear. 

"  I'm  speaking  to  you  ! "  said  De  Castro. 

«  Go  to  the  devil,  De  Castro  !  "  said  Taliaferro, 


"  For  five  crucial  seconds  the  muscles  of  the  two  men  strained, 
equal  and  motionless"  .  .  . 


THE    CATHEDRAL  35 

pushing  quickly  by  and  out  upon  the  stone  ter 
race.  The  Senorita  of  the  Coach  was  hidden 
from  sight  behind  the  booths. 

De  Castro  followed  instantly.  "  You  Yankee 
cur ! "  he  cried,  stepping  through  the  portal,  and 
then  Taliaferro's  palm  had  stung  his  cheek. 

The  blow  miraculously  restored  the  sight  of 
a  blind  beggar,  who  leaped  up,  scattering  his 
coppers,  and  sought  sanctuary  within  the 
church. 

De  Castro's  sombrero  fell  off ;  the  veins  of  his 
temples  swelled,  and  he  drew  his  sword.  As  the 
blade  rushed  from  the  sheath  Taliaferro  sprang. 
Before  De  Castro  could  turn  the  point,  his  wrist 
was  twisted  to  agony.  For  five  crucial  seconds 
the  muscles  of  the  two  men  strained,  equal  and 
motionless.  Then  the  hilt  tore  from  De  Castro's 
grip,  and  Taliaferro  leaped  back  with  the  sword. 

"  Coward  !  "  exclaimed  he. 

He  did  not  know  his  man.  Rushing  in,  De 
Castro  tried  to  strike  the  blade  aside.  His  hand 
was  cut. 

"  You  fool ! "  said  Taliaferro,  with  a  touch  of 
admiration.  The  armed  man  who  attacks  the 
weaponless  is  not  often  the  one  to  throw  himself 
bare-handed  upon  a  swordsman,  but  De  Castro 
did  the  one  thing  without  shame  and  the  other 
without  fear.  Insane  with  humiliation  and  rage, 
he  courted  death  a  second  time,  but  the  Confed 
erate  broke  the  sword  blade  across  his  knee,  and 
threw  the  pieces  in  its  owner's  face.  The  steel 


36  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

clattered  on  the  flagstones,  and  there  was  a  red 
hole  in  De  Castro's  cheek. 

Passers-by  ran  up,  and  came  between  the  com 
batants.  The  booths  poured  forth  a  crowd,  peons 
working  in  the  Plaza  ran  across  to  the  Cathedral 
atrium.  The  beggar,  peering  out  of  the  church 
door,  was  at  a  loss  whether  to  go  blind  again,  or 
to  assume  the  importance  of  an  eye-witness.  A 
squad  of  gendarmes  hastened  from  the  Municipal 
Palace  on  the  south  ;  the  whistle  call  of  "  Riot ! " 
ran  down  the  streets  from  post  to  post.  A  de 
tachment  of  Austrian  Guards  at  the  National 
Palace  on  the  east  of  the  Plaza  crossed  in  double 
time  with  loaded  muskets  and  fixed  bayonets. 
The  lieutenant  in  command  thought  he  was  going 
to  suppress  a  revolution. 

Meanwhile,  with  something  of  the  famed  meneo 
in  her  walk,  leaving  in  the  morning  air  a  little 
wake  of  violet  fragrance,  the  cause  of  all  this 
civic  and  military  commotion  moved  quietly 
homeward,  wondering  if  the  good-looking  Ameri 
can  would  be  at  the  bull-fight  next  day,  and  de 
ciding  to  wear  with  her  ancestral  mantilla  of 
creamy  lace  a  certain  gown  of  Persian  pattern 
fresh  from  Paris. 


IV 

FRENCH    MILITARY    JUSTICE 

AN  hour  later  De  Castro  was  free. 

The  Austrians  and  gendarmes  had  dispersed 
the  crowd.  The  ambitious  lieutenant  was  per 
suaded  that  De  Castro  and  Taliaferro  were  not 
fomenting  a  revolution.  The  two  were  taken  to 
the  Municipal  Palace,  where  De  Castro,  after 
cheek  and  hand  were  bandaged,  obtained  an  im 
mediate  hearing  before  Baron  Tindal,  the  colonel 
commanding  the  gendarmerie. 

In  spite  of  his  sorry  appearance,  the  reputation 
of  Jose  de  Castro  checked  all  levity  on  the  part 
of  the  colonel.  Maximilian  liked  Tindal,  but 
feared  De  Castro,  and  to  win  his  adhesion  would 
sacrifice  many  Tindals.  De  Castro  was,  more 
over,  a  friend  of  General  Uguarte,  Director  of 
Police. 

On  the  other  hand,  Taliaferro  did  not  seem  to 
be  any  one  at  all.  He  did  not  even  have  a  pass 
port,  having  refused  to  take  one  from  the  hated 
Federals.  Manifestly,  he  was  from  nowhere. 
Besides,  though  evidence  was  needless,  the  gen 
darmes  brought  in  a  beggar  who  saw  Taliaferro 
strike  the  first  blow. 

37 


38  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

«  He  insulted  me  !  "  protested  Taliaferro. 

«  What  did  he  say  ?  "  asked  the  colonel. 

"  He  called  me  a  Yankee  !  " 

«  Well,  what  of  that  ?  " 

«  Perhaps  he  said  Yankee  cur,"  reflected  Talia 
ferro.  «  I  didn't  mind  '  cur '  so  much." 

«  He  called  you  a  cur,  did  he  ?  "  said  Tindal, 
not  understanding,  and  resenting  the  twinkle  in 
the  Confederate's  eye.  «  What  had  you  done  ?  " 

«  Walked  out  of  the  church,"  said  Taliaferro. 

«  Nonsense  !  "  exclaimed  the  colonel.  "  What 
had  you  said  ?  " 

"He  suggested  that  I  stay  inside,  and  I  re 
quested  him  to  be  damned." 

'  A  gendarme  snickered.  The  colonel  felt  that 
he  was  losing  prestige,  and  turned  to  De 
Castro. 

"  What  caused  this  affair,  general  ?  "  he  asked. 

"  Yesterday,"  said  De  Castro,  « this  man  was 
getting  drunk  with  a  cavalry  sergeant.  I  refused 
him  an  introduction,  and  he  took  offence.  To 
day,  he  struck  me  as  I  came  out  of  the  Cathedral." 

"  At  last  an  intelligible  statement !  "  said  the 
colonel. 

"  Not  true,  however,"  remarked  Taliaferro. 

"  Your  own  story  is  preposterous  !  "  cried  the 
colonel.  "  Why  should  General  De  Castro  forbid 
your  leaving  the  church  ?  " 

"  That  I  will  not  tell,"  said  Taliaferro. 

"  Do  you  admit  that  General  De  Castro  yester 
day  refused  you  an  introduction  ?  " 


FRENCH   MILITARY  JUSTICE  39 

"  Very  boorishly,"  said  Taliaferro. 

"  Never  mind  his  manner.     Why  ?  " 

"  Not  because  I  was  drinking." 

"  Will  you  or  will  you  not  specify  the  rea 
son  ?  " 

"  It  was  his  reason,  not  mine,"  said  Taliaferro. 

"  He  has  stated  it.  I'm  trying  to  hear  your 
version.  You  are  suspiciously  unwilling  to  give 
it." 

"  General  De  Castro  has  lied,"  said  Taliaferro. 
"  The  cause  of  our  quarrel  is  private.  To  sol 
diers  I  may  suggest  that  there  is  a  proper  way 
of  settling  it  outside  a  police  court." 

But  De  Castro  had  reflected  that  that  method 
would  end  his  chances  with  Felise  Medina.  "  I 
have  no  assurance  that  you  are  a  gentleman," 
said  he. 

"  You  didn't  need  it  when  I  had  no  sword," 
retorted  Taliaferro. 

"  General  De  Castro,"  put  in  Tindal,  hastily, 
"  I  regret  that  my  men  have  caused  you  this  in 
convenience.  I  need  hardly  remark  that  you  are 
quite  at  liberty." 

Don  Jose  leaned  over  the  colonel's  desk,  and 
said  something  in  a  low  voice.  The  colonel 
nodded,  and  rose  to  his  feet  as  De  Castro  started 
out. 

"  I  will  meet  General  De  Castro  again,"  said 
Taliaferro. 

"  I  fear  I  shall  not  soon  have  that  pleasure," 
replied  Don  Jose,  brazenly  airing  the  fact  that 


40  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

he  had  dictated  Taliaferro's  sentence.  With  a 
«  Good  morning,  Colonel,"  he  went  out. 

"  You,  sir,"  said  the  colonel,  looking  at  Talia 
ferro's  money,  "  will  pay  a  fine  of  four  hundred 
pesos,  and  leave  the  city  before  sunset.  Should 
you  return,  you  will  be  put  in  prison." 

"  Do  you  call  this  a  trial  ?  "  exclaimed  Talia- 
ferro. 

"The  investigation  has  satisfied  me,"  replied 
the  colonel.  "  A  trial  could  do  no  more." 

"  It  may  not  satisfy  your  superiors  so  well," 
said  Taliaferro. 

The  colonel  smiled.  His  superiors  were  all 
friends  or  fearers  of  De  Castro.  "  The  incident 
is  closed,"  said  he. 

"  You  have  my  money,"  said  Taliaferro,  and 
turned  to  go. 

The  baron  motioned  to  the  gendarmes,  who 
barred  the  way.  «  Understand,"  said  he,  "  you 
will  be  watched  till  you  are  out  of  the  city.  So 
no  more  nonsense." 

When  finally  permitted  to  leave,  Taliaferro 
was  accompanied  by  two  gendarmes,  who  were 
instructed  not  to  allow  him  out  of  their  sight. 


EXPELLED 

COMING  down  from  the  second  story  of  the 
palace,  and  out  under  the  arcade  of  a  big  dry- 
goods  store,  De  Castro  was  chagrined  to  see,  in 
their  carriage  by  the  curb,  his  cousin,  Dona  Ca- 
silda  Prado,  and  the  Medina  girls,  her  nieces.  A 
salesman  was  bringing  out  boxes  full  of  goods 
for  their  inspection.  Don  Jose  tried  to  slip  away 
unseen,  but  was  hailed  by  Senorita  Incarnacion. 

"Good  morning,  Don  Jose,"  called  she,  salut 
ing.  "  Why,  what  on  earth  has  happened  ? " 

Don  Jose,  paying  his  respects  to  Dona  Casilda, 
was  too  busy  to  answer. 

"  But  those  bandages,  Don  Jose  ?  "  insisted  In 
carnacion. 

"  Oh,  an  accident  —  it  isn't  worth  mentioning." 

"  Did  the  bull  bite  you,  cousin  ?  "  queried  Felise. 

"  Do  you  mean  the  '  bear,'  Senorita  Felise  ?  " 
asked  he. 

"  What  has  become  of  your  sword,  Don  Jose  ?  " 
asked  she,  but  he  had  seen  her  eye  fall  on  his 
empty  scabbard,  and  as  she  spoke  he  said  good 
morning  to  Dona  Casilda,  then  to  the  girls,  and 
walked  away. 

41 


42  RODERICK    TALIAFERRO 

«  What  wild  thing  has  he  been  doing,  Felise  ?  " 
asked  Dona  Casilda. 

«  Who  knows  ?  "  said  the  girl,  not  caring  to 
communicate  her  surmise. 

The  clerk  was  coming  out,  laden  with  card- 
boxes. 

Boiling  internally,  and  followed  by  his  two 
gendarmes,  Taliaferro  came  tramping  down  the 
stairs.  Looking  neither  right  nor  left,  he  came 
suddenly  around  the  corner  of  the  portal,  and 
marched  over  the  unfortunate  clerk,  whose  boxes 
toppled  into  adjacent  parts  of  the  arcade. 

"  Carra-mba  !  "  ejaculated  the  clerk. 

"  Sorry,"  mumbled  Taliaferro,  heading  for  Tla- 
peleros  Street.  He  did  not  observe  the  carriage 
and  its  occupants. 

"  What  a  rude  fellow  !  "  said  Sefiora  Prado. 

"  Felise,  oh,  look,  Felise  ! "  cried  Incarnacion, 
though  Felise  was  already  looking  as  hard  as  she 
could.  "  It's  the  American  who  helped  our  horse 
up!" 

"  That  man  seemed  polite  yesterday,"  said  Dona 
Casilda,  remembering  how  he  had  caught  her ;  "  but 
how  do  you  know  he's  an  American,  Chona  ?  " 

"  Felise  says  so,"  said  Incarnacion. 

"  He  looks  like  one,"  said  Felise,  disclaiming 
more  intimate  knowledge. 

"  He  and  his  friends  are  too  fond  of  running 
over  people,"  said  the  senora.  «  Yesterday  our 
horses  —  to-day  our  chemises !  And  what  is  he 
doing  with  those  gendarmes  ?  " 


FRENCH   MILITARY   JUSTICE  43 

"  Do  you  suppose  he's  arrested  ?  "  said  Chona. 

"  He  doesn't  walk  like  it,"  said  Felise. 

In  her  own  mind,  however,  she  connected  De 
Castro's  bandages  and  the  stranger's  gendarmes. 
The  unwritten  code  of  her  class  forbade  her  ever 
to  recognize  a  man  who  had  fought  another  on 
her  account. 

Taliaferro  made  for  the  Calle  de  Gante.  At 
the  entrance  to  the  quarters  of  the  Twelfth  he 
was  stopped  by  the  sentries. 

"  I  have  an  appointment  with  Sergeant  Sar- 
nette,"  he  said. 

The  sentry  called  his  corporal,  who  asked 
Taliaferro's  name.  "That  is  right,"  he  said 
cheerfully.  "  The  sergeant  has  permission  for 
Major  Taliaferro  and  Senor  Marquando  to  enter 
at  noon.  But  your  —  ahem  !  —  your  escort 
here  ? "  said  the  corporal.  "  I  have  no  orders 
to  admit  them." 

"  Let  them  stay  out,  then,"  laughed  Taliaferro, 
and  before  they  could  stop  him  he  passed  in, 
leaving  them  to  jabber  at  the  imperturbable 
chasseurs. 

In  the  patio,  Taliaferro  found  Sarnette  playing 
ecart6  with  three  other  soldiers.  Before  each  — 
particularly  before  Sarnette — was  a  little  heap 
of  silver  and  bank-notes. 

"  Hello,  Taliaferro  !  "  called  Sarnette,  laying 
down  his  cigarette  to  gather  in  a  fresh  winning. 
"  Just  look  on  a  bit,  will  you  ?  We  touched 
our  pay  this  morning.  Don  Hilario  will  be  here 


44  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

pretty  soon,  and  before  he  comes  I  want  to  give 
these  boys  a  chance  to  get  even." 

« I  noticed  them  getting  even  just  now,"  ob 
served  Taliaferro. 

The  soldiers  looked  up  and  grinned. 

"What's  up  out  there?"  asked  Sarnette,  as 
the  voices  at  the  gate  grew  loud. 

"Your  guard  won't  admit  my  escort,"  said 
Taliaferro,  adopting  the  corporal's  euphemism. 

"  Your  escort  ?  "  blinked  Sarnette.  "  What  is 
it  ?  Where  did  you  get  it  ?  " 

"  It's  two  irate  gendarmes,  and  I  got  it  of 
Colonel  Tindal." 

"  Sergeant,"  said  the  corporal,  coming  across 
the  patio,  "  those  gendarmes  claim  they  have 
orders  to  keep  your  friend  in  sight.  I  suppose 
I'll  have  to  ask  the  lieutenant." 

"  Is  this  so,  Taliaferro  ?  "  exclaimed  Sarnette, 
jumping  up. 

"  Unfortunately." 

"We'll  hold  them,"  said  Sarnette,  quickly. 
"  You  can  go  out  through  the  Calle  San  Juan  de 
Latran ! " 

"  Let  them  in,"  said  Taliaferro.  "  Shaking 
them  won't  help.  I  must  do  more  than  that." 

" Let  them  in,  corporal,"  said  Sarnette.  "If 
the  lieutenant  says  anything  —  well,  he  won't 
see  them.  Some  other  time,  boys,"  he  said  to 
his  fellow-players. 

The  corporal  obeyed. 

"  Now  tell  us,"  said  Sarnette,  going  aside  with 
Taliaferro. 


FRENCH    MILITARY   JUSTICE  45 

"  I  slapped  De  Castro." 

"  The  devil !  Congratulations  !  What  did  he 
do?" 

Taliaferro  told  the  story,  omitting  the  Seno- 
rita  of  the  Coach. 

"  Didn't  I  tell  you  !  "  exclaimed  Sarnette.  "  I 
saw  the  Vicomtesse  de  Saint-Castin  —  a  country 
woman  of  yours  by  the  way,  and  a  great  friend 
of  Felise  Medina,  the  girl  you  talked  to." 

"  Felise  Medina,"  repeated  Taliaferro,  pronounc 
ing  the  name  for  the  first  time,  and  testing  the 
syllables  as  though  to  see  if  they  were  worthy  of 
denoting  her. 

"  The  name  is  shortened  from  Felicidad,"  said 
Sarnette. 

"  Felicity  ?  "  said  Taliaferro,  in  English. 

"  How  crazy  De  Castro  is  over  her,"  went  on 
Sarnette,  "  you  can  judge  from  his  absurd  jeal 
ousy  of  us.  He  is  a  cousin  of  Don  Miguel 
Medina,  Chona's  father." 

«  Chona  ?  "  said  Taliaferro. 

"  She's  the  little  one  —  Incarnacion.  I  know 
a  lady  who  knew  them  when  they  were  at  school 
in  Paris.  Senorita  Felise  is  a  girl-friend  of 
Madame  Bazaine.  Saint-Castin  is  a  good  friend 
of  mine.  He's  a  captain  on  Bazaine's  staff  — 
married  a  girl  from  Saint  Louis  in  your  country." 

"  Where  do  they  live  ?  "  asked  Taliaferro. 

"  They've  rented  a  villa  in  Tacubaya." 

"  The  Medinas  ?  "  asked  Taliaferro. 

Sarnette  laughed.     "  You've  got  it  bad,  Talia- 


46  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

ferro.  No,  the  Medinas  live  in  the  Calle  de 
Medinas,  off  the  Plaza  de  Santo  Domingo.  Old 
Don  Miguel  owns  the  biggest  hacienda  between 
here  and  Queretaro.  He  was  a  Conservative 
brigadier,  and  one  of  the  Assembly  of  Notables 
who  elected  Maximilian.  His  hatred  of  the  Lib 
erals  may  have  had  something  to  do  with  De 
Castro's  recent  change  of  politics." 

"  De  Castro  is  her  second  cousin,  then,"  mused 
Taliaferro,  deciding  that  after  all  he  was  not 
her  betrothed.  The  thought  increased  his  reluc 
tance  to  leave  the  city.  In  less  than  three  days 
a  vista  of  fascinating  life  had  opened  before 
him. 

Sarnette  insisted  that  he  should  leave.  "  It's 
better  to  be  free  in  Tlanepantla,"  he  argued, 
"  than  it  is  to  be  imprisoned  here.  Once  in, 
there's  no  telling  when  you'd  get  out.  Tlane 
pantla  is  only  fifteen  kilometers.  Introduce  Don 
Hilario  and  me  to  your  compatriot,  Maury. 
We'll  all  work  to  repeal  your  sentence,  and  keep 
you  informed.  But  you  will  need  money.  Did 
Tindal  fine  you  all  you  had  ?  " 

«  Exactly,"  said  Taliaferro. 

"  It's  a  little  way  he  has,"  said  Sarnette,  pull 
ing  out  a  handful  of  bank-notes.  To  his  aston 
ishment,  Taliaferro  declined. 

«  What's  the  matter  ?  "  asked  Sarnette. 

"  I  see  no  way  of  paying  it  back." 

"  All  the  more  reason  ! "  exclaimed  the  other. 

"I'll  get   along,"  said  Taliaferro,  who  had  a 


FRENCH   MILITARY   JUSTICE  47 

plebeian  hatred  of  indebtedness.  The  vicomte 
was  righteously  indignant. 

When  Marquando  arrived  and  heard  the  news, 
he  joined  heartily  in  the  campaign  for  Talia- 
ferro's  reinstatement.  As  the  three,  followed  by 
the  inevitable  escort,  crossed  the  street  to  the 
Iturbide,  a  stableman  in  the  headquarters  of  the 
diligence  lines  was  watering  some  horses. 

«  Thetis  !  "  called  Taliaferro. 

A  black  mare  looked  up,  whinnied,  jerked 
loose,  and  trotted  up,  touching  Taliaferro's  hand 
with  velvety  nose  and  nibbling  at  his  fingers. 

"  You  beauty  !  "  exclaimed  Marquando. 

"  She  came  on  a  passenger  steamer  like  other 
folks,"  said  Taliaferro.  "Didn't  you,  Thetis? 
Shake  hands." 

She  did.  Sarnette  requested  the  same  honor, 
but  she  wouldn't  until  her  master  gave  the 
order.  That  completed  her  conquest  of  Sarnette 
and  Marquando. 

"  Look  here,  Taliaferro,"  said  Sarnette,  as  they 
turned  into  the  hotel,  "how  are  you  going  to 
feed  that  mare  ?  " 

"  There  are  corn-fields,"  said  Taliaferro. 

"Would  you  rather  steal  corn  than  borrow 
money  ?  I've  no  patience  with  you !  Mar 
quando,  did  I  ever  refuse  to  borrow  money  of 
you  ?  " 

"  Never  !  "  replied  Marquando,  promptly  exon 
erating  his  friend. 

"  Have  I  not  volunteered  to  borrow  it  ?  " 


48  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

"With  cordiality." 

"  Did  I  ever  worry  about  paying  it  back  ?  " 

"  Not  you  !  " 

"  There  !  "  cried  Sarnette,  triumphantly. 

Taliaferro  gave  up  his  scheme  of  pawning  use 
less  valuables,  and  followed  the  shining  example 
of  Sarnette. 

One  of  the  escort  insisted  on  going  with  him 
to  his  room  upstairs,  but,  like  the  worm,  Talia 
ferro  turned. 

"  I  want  you  fellows  to  stop  getting  ready  to 
shoot  every  time  I  turn  a  corner ! "  he  exclaimed. 
"  It  makes  one  conspicuous.  I'm  coming  down 
in  five  minutes.  I  leave  town  in  half  an  hour. 
Now  sit  down  and  take  a  rest." 

The  escort  felt  relieved,  and  took  his  word. 
Taliaferro  packed,  paid  his  bills,  and  hired  a 
donkey  boy.  With  his  friends  he  called  on  Com 
modore  Maury,  and  presented  his  letter.  The 
commodore  was  cordial,  and  said  he  would  see 
the  Emperor,  but  held  out  no  hope  of  success 
against  De  Castro.  In  spite  of  his  good-will, 
there  was  cold  comfort  in  the  commodore. 

When  Taliaferro  said  good-by  to  Sarnette  and 
Marquando,  mounted  Thetis,  and  rode  away,  he 
could  see  no  silver  lining  to  his  cloud. 


VI 

THE  KING  OP  THE  GLEAMING  RING 

TAKING  the  road  to  Tlanepantla,  Taliaferro 
passed  the  Palace  of  Buena  Vista,  the  headquar 
ters  of  the  French  army  in  Mexico.  Turbaned 
spahis  were  on  guard  at  the  entrance.  A  fine- 
looking  Mexican  girl  was  taking  her  carriage. 
The  escort  said  it  was  Madame  Bazaine. 

"  A  friend  of  Felise  Medina  !  "  thought  Talia 
ferro,  regarding  the  lady  with  new  interest. 

He  reached  the  city  Custom-house,  left  his 
gendarmes,  and  rode  into  the  country,  cursing 
the  evil  fortune  that  banished  him  from  all  the 
brilliant  life  of  Mexico.  At  Popotla  he  passed 
beneath  the  Tree  of  the  Dismal  Night,  where 
Cortez  had  wept  for  his  ruined  army.  To  Talia 
ferro  it  was  the  Tree  of  the  Dismal  Day.  He 
passed  the  church  of  Tacuba,  divining  nothing 
of  the  strange  scene  from  which  his  eyes  would 
one  day  rise  to  its  pink  tower. 

The  wooded  old  causeway,  bordered  with 
moats  and  walls  of  villa  gardens,  gave  way  to  a 
road  over  treeless  uplands  covered  with  maguey. 
The  towers  of  Mexico  Cathedral  sank  behind 

E  49 


50  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

him,  and  there  were  only  girdling,  dark  sierras, 
and  white  volcanoes,  haunting  the  horizon. 

The  sun  blazed  tropically.  The  donkey  boy 
jogged  along  astride  the  hind  quarters  of  his 
burro.  Taliaferro  had  eaten  nothing  since  early 
morning,  was  not  used  to  that  sun,  and  had  no 
two-foot  peak  of  straw  above  his  head.  He  was 
glad  when,  pointing  ahead  to  a  line  of  verdure, 
the  boy  said,  "  Tlanepantla  !  " 

They  entered  the  village  by  an  old  stone  bridge, 
crossing  a  little  river.  The  banks  were  lined 
with  trees  in  whose  shadow  women  were  wash 
ing  linen  on  smooth  stones.  In  the  cobble-stoned 
streets  and  lanes  was  neither  tree  nor  shade. 
Except  for  the  walled  grove  around  the  church, 
the  place  was  like  a  brickyard. 

"  Is  there  a  hotel  ? "  asked  Taliaferro,  with 
sudden  suspicion. 

"  No,  sir,"  said  the  boy,  calmly. 

"  Where  does  one  sleep  ?  " 

"  There  is  the  Meson." 

The  Meson  had  the  advantage  of  accommodat 
ing  man  and  beast  under  the  same  roof.  Upon 
inspection,  Taliaferro  decided  it  was  not  good 
enough  for  Thetis,  but  it  was  that  or  nothing. 

"  Where  does  one  eat  ?  "  he  asked. 

«  There  is  the  Fonda  y  Cafe." 

Half  starved,  Taliaferro  entered  this,  "the 
Crystal  of  the  Orient,"  where  men  were  drinking 
pulque.  Two  peons  were  eating  soup  with 
folded  pancakes  for  spoons.  Above  the  dining- 


THE   KING   OF   THE   GLEAMING   RING         51 

table  hung  a  goat's  carcass,  from  which  a  young 
man,  standing  on  a  bench,  was  pulling  out  the 
entrails. 

Taliaferro  beat  a  retreat,  discharged  the  don 
key  boy,  looked  about  the  village,  and  finally 
made  a  meal  of  fruit  and  vegetables  bought  in 
the  Plaza.  He  tried  a  tortilla  which  a  girl 
cooked  before  his  eyes  on  a  circular  sheet  of  iron, 
but  tasting  it,  he  needed  a  drink,  and  turned 
back  to  the  «  Crystal." 

He  saw  that  a  large  party  had  arrived  in  his 
absence.  There  were  two  large  diligences  and 
ox-carts  with  solid  wooden  wheels.  Eight-mule 
teams  were  being  led  into  the  Meson.  A  dozen 
men  stood  or  sat  in  the  shade  of  an  arcade  borne 
up  by  four  pink  pillars.  Chatting  and  laughing, 
they  were  smoking  cigarettes  and  drinking  some 
thing  that  was  not  pulque.  At  this  Taliaferro 
brightened,  for  to  him  the  "  divine  pulque " 
tasted  like  stale  buttermilk. 

He  noticed  that  each  man  wore  a  peculiar, 
short  jacket,  padded  square  in  the  shoulders  and 
cut  small  in  the  waist.  Their  felt  hats  were  all 
flat-topped,  straight-brimmed.  Their  very  faces 
were  of  one  type,  —  smooth-shaven,  square-jawed. 

One  sat  apart  from  the  others.  Before  him 
were  the  remnants  of  a  repast  that  never  came 
from  the  larder  of  that  cafe.  A  waiter  came  out 
and  announced  dinner.  The  party  crowded  in. 
Taliaferro  observed  the  man  who  was  able  to 
dine  privately  where  his  companions  had  to  take 


52  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

pot  luck.  It  was  hard  to  tell  whether  he  was  a 
great  gentleman,  or  was  playing  the  part.  His 
suit  was  of  fine,  gray  linen  ;  his  silk  shirt  fas 
tened  in  front  with  plain  gold  buttons ;  in  his 
ring  was  an  immense  opal  set  round  with  little 
diamonds. 

"  Not  a  gentleman's  ring,"  thought  Taliaferro, 
and  reflected  that  a  gentleman  in  the  better  sense 
would  not  eat  bountifully  in  sight  of  hungry 
comrades.  The  man  was  graceful.  When  he 
laid  aside  his  hat,  the  American  saw  that  his 
black  hair  was  long  and  braided  into  a  queue. 
A  servant  cleared  away  the  dishes.  Another 
member  of  the  party  came  out  of  the  Meson. 

"  Have  you  lunched,  Perez  ?  "  inquired  he  of 
the  ring. 

"  Yes,  sir,"  answered  the  other.  "  My  wife 
had  something  for  us." 

"  Sit  down."  To  the  servant  he  said,  "  Bring 
two  tequilas." 

Taliaferro  went  on  into  the  Fonda.  "  Who  is 
he?"  inquired  he  of  the  inn-keeper,  indicating 
him  of  the  ring. 

"The  greatest  in  Mexico  and  Spain,"  replied 
the  fondista. 

"  Greatest  what  ?  "     The  fondista  stared. 

"  Don't  understand  much  Spanish,"  apologized 
Taliaferro.  «  How  does  he  call  himself  ?  " 

"  Bernardo  Gavino,  king  of  matadors." 

"Ah!"  said  Taliaferro.  "Yes,  I  remember." 
These  were  the  bull-fighters  whose  advertisement 


THE   KING   OF   THE   GLEAMING   RING         53 

he  had  read  in  Mexico.  "  How  long  will  they 
be  here  ?  "  he  asked. 

«  Who  knows  ?  "  said  the  fondista.  «  Till  the 
heat  passes.  Perhaps  four  o'clock." 

It  was  then  two.  Taliaferro  rolled  a  ciga 
rette,  and  considered  whether  he  could  not  some 
how  turn  this  meeting  to  account.  "  What  do 
you  call  that  stuff  ?  "  asked  he. 

"  Tequila,  sir." 

"  One  for  me."  It  proved  better  than  pulque, 
and  not  much  stronger  than  pure  gin.  "  Bring 
one  to  me  at  the  table  outside,"  said  Taliaferro. 
He  strolled  out  with  an  after-dinner  air,  and 
seated  himself  at  a  table  near  Gaviiio. 

A  neat  little  woman  with  a  child  of  five  or  six 
came  out  of  the  Meson.  To  Gaviiio  she  made 
the  Mexican  salute,  and  said  warningly  in  south 
ern  French  to  Perez,  "  Not  too  much  tequila, 
Gregorio  ! " 

"  Where  are  you  going  ?  "  asked  he. 

"  Nicolito  and  I  are  going  over  into  the  church. 
See  how  nice  and  cool  it  looks."  Her  eyes 
invited  him  to  come,  but  he  did  not  accept,  and 
she  went  on. 

Finding  that  Perez  spoke  French,  Taliaferro 
soon  opened  a  conversation.  "  I  would  like  to 
tell  my  friends  in  Mexico  that  I  have  talked  with 
Gavino,"  said  he.  "  If  you  will  be  good  enough 
to  translate  for  me  —  " 

"  But  certainly,  sir,"  said  Perez,  glad  to  exhibit 
his  French.  "  What  do  you  wish  to  say  ?  " 


54  RODERICK    TALIAFERRO 

"Only  to  chat  a  little.  Tell  him  that  from 
the  day  I  first  heard  his  name  I  have  desired  the 
honor  of  meeting  him." 

Gavino  said  he  was  himself  honored.  Talia- 
ferro  understood  without  translation,  ordered  an 
other  round  of  tequila,  and  got  Gavino  to  talk  of 
his  art.  The  matador  kindled,  and  before  he 
finished,  was  on  his  feet  acting  the  scene. 

"  Magnifico  ! "  cried  Taliaferro,  as  the  imaginary 
sword  went  home.  Secretly,  he  decided  that  he 
himself  could  do  that,  eliminating  the  melo 
drama.  "  Bring  three  tequilas  ! "  he  cried.  "  Were 
you  nervous  when  you  faced  your  first  bull  ?  " 

"  I  was  afraid,  not  of  the  bull,  but  of  the 
people,"  said  Gavino.  "  If  they  hissed,  I  was 
ruined." 

"  The  scorn  of  a  crowd  is  a  terrible  thing," 
said  Perez. 

"Could  one  appear  creditably  without  train 
ing  ?  "  asked  Taliaferro. 

"  Perhaps,  if  one  had  genius  and  had  studied 
the  passes.  Without  genius  one  studies  in  vain." 

"To  the  genius  of  Gavino,"  said  Taliaferro, 
seeing  that  the  bull-fighter  would  stand  much 
flattery.  "  Fandista  !  " 

"But  allow  me,"  said  Gavifio,  and  called  to 
the  fondista.  «  Three  tequilas  !  "  The  matador 
daintily  lifted  his  replenished  glass.  "  I  drink  to 
—  I  have  not  the  honor  of  your  name,  sir." 

«  It  is  Taliaferro,"  said  that  gentleman,  and  Ga 
vino  drank  his  health.  «  My  friend,  the  Vicomte 


THE   KING   OF   THE   GLEAMING   RING         55 

de  Sarnette,  will  envy  me,"  said  Taliaferro,  "  when 
he  hears  of  this." 

«  Ah,  so  ?  The  Vicomte  de  Sarnette,"  repeated 
Gavifio. 

Taliaferro  noted  the  slight  accent  on  the  title. 
"  No  doubt  the  vicomte  will  be  at  the  Plaza  de 
Toros  to-morrow,"  he  said.  "  Waiter  !  Tequila  — 
three  tequilas.  I  understand  the  bulls  are  from 
Atenco." 

Gavifio  waxed  eloquent.  They  were  worthy 
of  his  steel  —  those  bulls  !  How  they  would  sink 
before  him  !  How  daintily  his  sword  would  find 
its  path !  For  he  was  no  bungler  like  Cuchares. 
The  poet  La  Barra  had  called  him  king  of  the 
gleaming  ring.  The  great  marshal,  the  Duke  of 
Tetuan,  had  given  him  a  box  of  cigars  and  a 
hundred  pesos  gold.  Never  had  matador  in 
spired  so  fine  a  sonnet,  pleased  so  great  a  duke, 
or  smoked  such  divine  cigars ! 

Taliaferro  assented,  and  ordered  more  tequila. 

Never  had  Gaviiio  met  cavalier  so  "sympa 
thetic  "  !  "  Of  course  you  are  a  cavalier ! "  he  cried. 
"  Perhaps  you're  thinking  I'm  not.  Well,  Pm  not. 
Pm  a  bull-fighter  —  the  best  bull-fighter  alive  or 
dead.  But  the  duke  did  not  sit  and  chat  with 
me.  The  ladies  in  the  boxes  sit  with  calm  faces 
when  the  bull's  horns  miss  me.by  an  inch  !  '  What 
heroism  ! '  they  exclaim.  And  then  they  throw 
me  money.  Of  course,  —  that  is  what  I  am  there 
for  —  money  !  So  is  the  street-sweeper  !  " 

«  You  have  the  feelings  of  a  gentleman,  Gavino," 


56  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

said  Taliaferro,  "and  that  is  all  there  is  to 
it." 

Gavino  looked  at  the  picador,  who  translated. 
"  That  you  say  so  is  but  proof  of  your  own  gen 
tility,"  he  said.  "  But  don't  I  know  the  difference  ! 
I  know  not  why  it  is,  but  should  the  Duke  of 
Tetuan  ride  by  and  see  us  two,  he'd  say,  '  A  gen 
tleman  talks  with  a  torrero  ! ' 

"  I'd  like  to  be  a  torrero  myself  —  for  a  while," 
said  Taliaferro. 

"  For  a  while  !  "  echoed  Gavino.  "  Oh,  yes. 
The  young  gentlemen  in  Mexico  give  corridas  — 
very  bad  ones.  The  bull's  horns  are  padded." 

"  I'll  bet  you  my  watch  to  ten  pesos,"  said 
Taliaferro,  "  that  to-morrow  I  can  kill  a  bull  with 
horns  not  padded." 

"  In  the  corrida  !  " 

«  Yes." 

Gavino  declined  the  bet.  He  could  not  afford 
to  present  an  inexperienced  matador  to  the  Mexi 
can  public.  He  did  not  like  Taliaferro's  making 
light  of  his  art;  his  flow  of  good  spirits  was 
checked,  and  for  a  moment  the  matador  seemed 
to  grow  quite  sober.  But  the  tequila  was  power 
ful  stuff,  as  even  Taliaferro  acknowledged.  He 
ordered  three  more. 

"  No  more  for  me,"  said  Perez,  who,  to  his  own 
benefit  and  the  fondisttfs  profit,  had  been  leaving 
half  of  each  glassful.  His  refusal  stirred  up 
Gavino. 

"  For  the  honor  of  the  profession,  Gregorio  ! " 


THE   KING   OF   THE   GLEAMING   RING         57 

he  cried.  Ordinarily  Gavino  called  him  Perez. 
Gregorio  yielded. 

"  Do  you  have  many  killed  or  wounded  ?  "  asked 
Taliaferro. 

"  No,"  said  Gavino,  "  but  Delgado,  my  second 
matador,  had  some  ribs  broken  last  Sunday  at 
Queretaro." 

"  Your  second  matador ! "  cried  Taliaferro. 
"  But  what  will  you  do  to-morrow  ?  " 

"  There  is  an  understudy." 

«  Is  he  good  ?  " 

"  He  carves  the  bulls,"  said  Gavino,  with  a 
shrug. 

"  Then  let  me  try  it ! "  exclaimed  Taliaferro. 
"  If  you've  a  poor  man  anyway,  what's  the  dif 
ference  ?  You  said  yourself  the  thing's  inborn. 
I  ask  it  as  a  favor.  I  have  reasons." 

"  You  might  be  hurt,  and  I  be  held  respon 
sible,"  said  Gavino. 

"  There's  none  to  hold  you  responsible,"  said 
Taliaferro.  "  I  am  alone  in  the  world." 

"  You  are  lucky,"  said  Perez,  looking  toward 
the  church.  "  When  I  go  down  under  my  horse, 
with  the  bull  plunging,  I  shudder  and  think, 
'  What  will  become  of  them  ! ' ' 

"  I  know,"  nodded  Taliaferro. 

"  Melancholy  be  hanged  !  "  cried  Gavino,  order 
ing  more  tequila.  "  Perez,  you  talk  like  an  old 
woman  !  For  shame,  Senor  Taliaferro  —  young, 
handsome,  educated  —  why,  3^011  can  play  the 
bear  to  the  proudest  senorita  in  the  land  !  Yet 


58  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

it  is  glorious  to  be  the  best  torrero !  If  I  were 
of  your  rank,  Vicomte,  they'd  not  sit  languid. 
They'd  give  me  not  money,  but  their  hearts ! " 

"  Would  you  refuse  me  such  a  chance  ! "  laughed 
Taliaferro,  not  sorry  to  see  Gavino  confusing  his 
rank  with  De  Sarnette's.  Gavino  was  pitying 
himself  mightily  because  he,  too,  wasn't  a  vicomte. 

«  Why  do  you  laugh  ?  "  he  cried.  «  Don't  you 
believe  it  ?  Did  I  not  fire  the  heart  of  a  poet, 
which  is  like  the  heart  of  a  woman  ?  No,  the 
poet  forgets  rank  !  But  a  cavalier  like  you  —  if 
you  could  do  what  I  shall  do  to-morrow  —  do 
you  think  she  would  —  er  —  think  she  would  — 
what  was  I  going  to  say  ?  "  He  groped  for  the 
broken  end  of  his  thought.  Tequila  does  not 
besiege,  it  storms  the  brain. 

Beating  it  back  from  his  own,  Taliaferro  pushed 
the  full  glass  into  the  torrero's  fingers.  His  facul 
ties  were  working  so  fiercely  that,  using  words  he 
had  just  heard,  he  was  able  to  speak  to  Gavino  in 
Spanish.  "  You  say  that  to-morrow,  when  I  ap 
pear  in  corrida,  I  win  the  heart  of  a  beautiful 
woman  —  the  proudest  senorita  in  the  land." 

"The  heart  of  a  beautiful  woman,"  repeated 
Gavino,  puzzled.  "  No,  that's  a  toast.  I  drink  — 
did  you  think  I  was  afraid  to  drink  ?  —  I  drink 
to  the  —  to  —  I  drink  to  what  you  said."  He 
tried  to  drain  the  glass,  but  set  it  down  half  full. 
Taliaferro  drank  his  to  the  last  drop. 

"  You've  not  finished,  Gavino.  Drink  the  rest 
to  my  success  in  the  corrida." 


THE   KING   OF   THE   GLEAMING   RING         59 

«  In  the  corrida  ?  " 

"  Yes.  To-morrow  when  I  act  as  second  ma 
tador." 

"  Beautiful  woman  —  that's  what  I  tried  to  —  " 

"  Drink  to  me  that  I  may  win  the  beautiful 
woman." 

« Win  beautiful  woman  ?  That's  right.  I 
understand." 

"  Drink  then  to  my  success  in  corrida." 

Gaviiio  had  a  dim  notion  he  ought  not  to  say 
that,  but  it  was  too  much  trouble  not  to.  "  Suc 
cess  in  corrida,"  cried  he,  and,  draining  his  glass, 
he  dashed  it  on  the  pavement. 

"  Don't  forget,  Gavino.  You've  consented. 
Give  me  your  word  you'll  not  forget." 

"  Never  forget,"  said  Gavino.  "  No  gentleman, 
but  don't  forget.  To  win  beautiful  heart  —  you 
thought  I  didn't  understand.  I  understand. 
Beautiful  heart's  high-price  performance.  I  get 
cigars.  Duke  of  Tetuan.  I  told  you  —  sonnet 
too  —  never  smoked  such  son  —  er  —  smoked 
such  —  ha  !  ha  !  Hear  me  !  Smoke  sonnet !  Did 
you  hear  me  smoke  sonnet  ?  Fondista, !  Joke  on 
me  —  smoke  sonnet !  " 

«  Will  he  stick  to  it  ?  "  asked  Taliaferro. 

"  I  hope  not,"  said  Perez. 


VII 

THE    COMING    OP    THE    QUADRILLA 

Two  hours  before  sunset,  the  bull-fighters  set 
out  for  the  capital.  The  interior  of  one  of  the 
diligences,  with  some  difficulty  and  considerable 
assistance  from  Taliaferro,  contained  Gavino.  He 
had  declined  to  be  separated  from  the  American 
vicomte.  That  nobleman,  therefore,  turned  The 
tis  over  to  Perez. 

Gavino's  business  manager,  Sanchez,  also  rode 
inside.  He  was  indignant  with  the  stranger  for 
getting  the  matador  drunk.  Gavino,  however, 
was  not  hired  by  managers  —  he  hired  them  — 
"  all  he  wanted  of  them,"  as  he  told  Sanchez ; 
and  he  would  get  drunk  if  he  felt  like  it,  though 
at  present  he  was  uncomfortably  sober.  He  in 
formed  Sanchez  that  Taliaferro  was  the  finest 
cavalier  in  the  world,  and  was  going  to  rank 
next  to  himself  among  matadors.  The  manager 
suppressed  his  private  opinion,  and  hoped  the  new 
matador  would  have  a  horn  stuck  through  him. 

At  sunset,  the  party  reached  the  city  Custom 
house. 

"Who  is  this?"  asked  the  collector,  seeing 
from  his  dress  that  Taliaferro  was  not  a  torrero. 

60 


THE   COMING   OF   THE   QU ACHILLA  61 

Gavino  was  asleep,  and  Taliaferro  was  afraid 
Sanchez  would  awaken  the  official's  suspicions. 
He  roused  the  snoring  torrero. 

"  What's  that  ?  "  demanded  Gavino. 

"  The  man  with  you  ? "  said  the  collector. 
"Who  is  he?" 

"  Second  matador  —  second  in  the  world.  Don't 
bother  us,  we're  sleepy." 

The  collector  complied,  the  great  matador  re 
sumed  his  slumber,  and  Taliaferro  was  in  the 
city. 

Gavino  was  conducted  to  his  apartments  in  the 
Iturbide,  but  most  of  the  quadrilla  put  up  at  a 
Meson  not  far  from  the  Plaza  de  Toros.  It  was 
not  palatial,  but  vastly  better  than  La  Crista- 
lina. 

After  supper,  Perez,  converted  by  Taliaferro's 
powers  of  persuasion  into  an  ally,  brought  to 
the  amateur  matador's  room  the  gorgeous  gar 
ments  of  the  profession.  The  low  shoes  were 
all  right,  and  the  rose-colored  silk  stockings, 
the  broad  sash,  and  the  bifurcated  black-velvet 
hat.  But  the  glittering  green  jacket  was  too 
tight  over  chest  and  shoulders,  and  the  rosette 
of  the  embroidered  trousers  did  not  reach  his 
knee. 

The  picador's  wife  set  to  work  upon  the  gar 
ments.  Senora  'Toinette,  as  she  had  christened 
herself  when  she  was  a  bride  knowing  little 
Spanish,  did  not  approve  at  all  of  the  big  man's 
giving  her  husband  too  much  tequila. 


62  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

"  He  does  speak  beautiful  French,  though,"  she 
said  ;  "  much  better  than  you,  Gregorio."  And 
then,  he  had  been  so  merry  at  supper.  No  lordly 
airs  about  him,  even,  though  he  was  a  vicomte, 
or  something,  in  his  own  country.  He  certainly 
had  "  the  heart  gay  " ;  and  was  so  nice  with  Nico- 
lito.  Of  course  he  had  taken  good  care  of  Senor 
Gaviiio,  but  that  was  no  more  than  right,  for  was 
it  not  his  fault  that  the  senor  found  himself  in 
such  a  dreadful  condition  ? 

"  What  a  woman,"  said  Perez.  "  Nothing  es 
capes  her  bright  French  eyes." 

"  I  shall  pray  for  him  to-night,"  she  said,  talk 
ing  while  her  needle  flew.  "  Oh,  for  you,  too, 
Gregorio,  —  but  how  dreadful  for  him  to  go  in 
without  experience  ! " 

Dreadful  as  it  was,  his  jacket  should  not  rip, 
and  his  trousers  should  cover  his  knee.  When 
Gregorio  helped  him  dress,  and  brought  him  in 
to  show  the  little  sefiora  the  result  of  her  labors, 
she  thought  there  never  was  a  knightlier  mata 
dor  —  not  in  the  days  when  the  corrida  was 
royal  sport,  and  Gothic  kings  of  Spain  vied  in 
the  ring  with  their  hidalgos. 

Looking  into  a  libellous  little  mirror,  Taliaferro 
was  reminded  of  the  American  circus,  rather  than 
of  Spanish  royalty.  Still,  it  was  all  the  best  of 
silver  and  satin,  the  gold-embroidered  cape  hung 
in  superb  folds,  the  stocking  was  of  finest  silk, 
and  the  leg  beneath  it  was  certainly  no  broom 
stick. 


THE   COMING   OF    THE   QUADRILLA  63 

"  Where  is  the  sword  ?  "  he  asked. 

Perez  produced  it.  It  was  thick,  not  wide, 
keen  of  point  and  edge.  "  There  is  no  sheath," 
he  said. 

"  This  is  good  steel,"  said  Taliaferro,  and 
thrilled  as  he  thought  of  the  bull's  horns.  Perez 
handed  him  the  blood-red  square  of  the  muleta. 
"  To-morrow  I  must  get  Gaviiio  to  show  me  about 
this  thing,"  he  said. 

"  You  must  also  study  the  etiquette,"  said  Perez, 
"  and  you  will  need  a  speech." 

This  was  an  alarming  prospect.  Taliaferro 
thought  first  of  asking  Perez  to  write  a  Span 
ish  speech  for  him,  but  fearing  the  profes 
sional  grandiloquence,  decided  to  send  a  note 
to  Marquando,  asking  his  help.  Perez  under 
took  to  have  a  note  delivered  that  night. 
Taliaferro  wrote  one  to  Sarnette  also  ;  the 
picador  took  charge  of  the  missives,  and  said 
good  night. 

Taliaferro  was  alone,  and  the  long,  hard  day 
was  done.  Feverish  with  the  day's  doings,  he 
sat  down  to  cool  his  soul.  He  could  scarcely 
realize  that  only  that  morning  he  had  seen  Felise 
Medina  kneeling  on  the  chapel  steps.  He  lit  his 
pipe  and  blew  out  the  smoky  lamp.  On  the 
stone  floor  lay  moonlight.  In  its  purity  and 
peace,  Roderick  had  a  chance  to  remember  who 
he  was,  reestablishing  the  connection  between 
shifting  outer  self  and  deeper  soul.  The  spirit 
of  wise  tenderness  was  in  the  light. 


64  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

He  opened  the  window  ;  the  cool  night  air 
moved  in.  Over  the  flat  roofs  he  saw  a  black 
mass  in  the  light  of  the  half-moon  —  the  great 
circle  of  the  bull-ring,  shaped-  like  its  ancestor, 
the  Roman  Coliseum.  In  a  flash  of  imagination 
he  saw  Latin  Mexico  as  a  remote,  late  outpost  of 
old  Rome  —  a  colony  across  the  sea  and  the  cen 
turies,  preserving  still  the  bloody  games  of  Rome, 
the  Roman  speech  whose  patricia'n  loveliness 
endured  in  Spanish,  the  Roman  law,  adminis 
tered  to  protect  the  strong  against  the  weak,  the 
Roman  justice  which  crucified  Jesus.  A  second 
flash,  and  he  saw  that  the  religion  called  Chris 
tian  was  a  Roman  thing  —  Rome  had  deified,  as 
she  deified  her  emperors,  the  carpenter  of  Naz 
areth,  and  made  of  our  true  brother  a  remote, 
strange  God.  In  the  name  of  the  man  who 
loved  his  neighbor  as  himself,  priests  had 
burned  heretics  there  on  the  Alameda's  edge, 
even  as  the  earlier  priests  of  this  same  ancient 
city  had  tugged  out  beating  human  hearts  to 
please  their  God.  So  Taliaferro  saw  as  one  that 
night  the  Priest  of  all  times  and  climes.  And 
then  he  saw  Felise  Medina  kneeling  on  the 
chapel  steps  —  that  Priest  her  spiritual  guide ! 
Ah  me ! 

From  the  Coliseum  came  to  the  dreamer's  ear 
a  deep,  sullen  bellow  —  a  sound  freighted  in  that 
hour  with  more  significance  than  any  word. 
From  that  same  old  brute  abysm  of  man's  heart 
which  lit  the  Christian  fagot  and  plunged  the 


THE   COMING  OF   THE   QUADRILLA          65 

pagan  knife,  arose  this  game  he  was  to  play  next 
day.  "  Is  it  you,  my  friend  ? "  he  murmured. 
"  Never  fear  —  it  will  be  you  or  me  to-morrow. 
The  matador's  inexperience  makes  it  a  fair  fight, 
—  and  that  is  more  than  many  men  and  many 
bulls  have  had  in  this  grim  old  world." 


VIII 

THE    PLAZA    DE    TOEOS 

DON  HILARIO  stopped  Sunday  morning  in  the 
Calle  de  Gante,  and  asked  for  Sergeant  Sarnette. 

"  What  good  wind  blows  you  here  ?  "  cried  that 
individual,  coming  out  with  a  bulky  volume 
under  his  arm.  "  I  was  just  starting  for  the 
Meson  del  Picadero." 

"  So  was  I,"  replied  Marquando. 

"  Did  you  get  one  too  ?  "  asked  the  sergeant, 
pulling  out  a  note.  It  said,  «  Please  bring  your 
veterinary  anatomy  book  Sunday  morning  to  the 
Meson  del  Picadero  near  the  Plaza  de  Toros." 
"  Something  the  matter  with  that  mare  !  "  grunted 
Sarnette. 

"  Oh,  no,"  said  Marquando.     "  Listen  to  this." 

"  SENOR  DON  HILARIO  MARQUANDO,  PTE., 
"No.  14,  Calle  de  Zuleta. 

"  My  dear  Senor :  —  Please  bring  or  send  to  the  Meson 
del  Picadero  Sunday  morning  a  funeral  oration,  appropri 
ate,  according  to  circumstances,  for  an  Atenco  bull,  or  for 
"  Yours  very  truly, 

"  RODERICK  TALIAFERRO." 

"  Is  he  crazy  ?  "  cried  Sarnette. 
"  I  thought  so,  at  first,"  admitted  Marquando, 
66 


THE  PLAZA  DE   TOROS  67 

"  but  on  reflection  decided  that  he  has  merely 
joined  the  quadrilla." 

«  Same  thing !  "  exclaimed  Sarnette.  "  Of 
course  he'd  do  it  if  he  could,  but  would  Gavino 
have  him  ?  " 

"  Let's  go  see,"  said  Marquando. 

When  they  reached  Taliaferro's  door  in  the 
Meson,  they  heard  voices  and  the  sound  of  men 
leaping  about. 

"  Come  in,  gentlemen,  come  in  !  "  cried  Talia- 
ferro,  throwing  open  the  door.  "  We  are  having 
a  rehearsal.  Fernand,  you  are  the  bull."  The 
matador  brandished  his  sword  arid  flaunted  his 
crimson  flag  in  the  bull's  fa.ce. 

"  Desist,  deluded  man  !  "  cried  the  unwilling 
animal.  "  I  have  no  horns  —  I'm  a  bachelor." 

"  Gentlemen,"  said  Taliaferro,  "  let  me  present 
Seiior  Bernardo  Gavino,  king  of  espadas,  and 
Senor  Perez,  our  best  picador." 

"  Our ! "  repeated  Sarnette.    "  The  effrontery  !  " 

Gavino  was  surprised  to  find  the  vicomte 
only  a  young  cavalry  sergeant.  He  thought  Mar 
quando  more  like  a  real  vicomte.  The  matador 
had  come  that  morning  to  make  Taliaferro  re 
lease  him  from  his  drunken  promise,  but,  failing 
in  that,  had  remained  to  coach  him  for  the  per 
formance. 

Taliaferro  pounced  on  Sarnette's  book.  "  Here," 
he  said,  finding  a  map  of  the  inner  horse.  "  The 
bull  is  built  the  same.  Why  not  strike  through 
diagonally  here  in  front  of  the  shoulder,  the  blade 


68  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

through  the  lungs,  the  point  in  the  heart,  no  bones 
in  the  way  ?  "  Perez  translated. 

« It  is  not  the  way ! "  remonstrated  Gavino. 
« You  think  of  striking  the  bull  on  the  charge. 
You  must  reduce  him  to  submission,  master  his 
mind,  make  him  stand  still!  Then,  running 
upon  him  directly  in  face,  strike  over  his  lowered 
head  and  plant  the  sword  between  his  shoulders. 
Your  suit  is  green,  the  muleta  is  red.  He  pays 
no  attention  to  you,  he  attacks  the  muleta." 

«  Suppose  he  should  be  color-blind  ?  "  objected 
Taliaferro. 

"  But  he  is  not,"  replied  Gavino,  seriously. 
"Never!  he  thinks  only  of  the  red  —  always, 
always!" 

"  Suppose  he  were  an  Irish  bull,"  suggested 
Taliaferro,  "and  chose  the  green?"  The  inter 
preter  gave  up. 

"  Have  you  the  impudence  to  differ  with  Ga 
vino  as  to  the  way  to  kill  a  bull  ?  "  asked  Sar- 
nette.  "  You  ought  to  go  over  and  tell  Salome 
Pina  how  to  paint." 

"  Gavino  wants  me  to  take  advantage  of  the 
bull's  stupidity,"  complained  Taliaferro. 

"  Don't  you  do  it ! "  exclaimed  Sarnette. 
"Throw  away  your  sword.  Go  right  in  and 
wrestle  with  him  !  Beat  him  at  his  own  game. 
Hook  him  !  I'm  sure  Senorita  Felise  would  ap 
plaud  that ! " 

"  Will  she  be  there  ?  "  asked  Taliaferro,  with 
interest. 


THE  PLAZA  DE   TOROS  69 

"  Like  your  friend  Don  Jose,"  said  Sarnette. 

"  Is  that  so  ?  "  said  Taliaferro,  looking  a  little 
nervous. 

"  Colonel  Tindal  will  be  there  with  about  two 
hundred  gendarmes,"  remarked  Marquando. 

Taliaferro  made  a  sign  meaning  that  the  pica 
dor  understood. 

"  Shouldn't  our  friend  shave  his  mustache  ?  " 
asked  Sarnette,  catching  at  the  chance  of  a  dis 
guise. 

"  Sacrifice  the  pride  of  my  lip ! "  cried  Talia 
ferro. 

"The  people  will  know  anyway  that  he's  an 
amateur,"  said  Gavino,  dolefully. 

Taliaferro  went  back  to  his  lesson.  Sarnette 
and  Marquando  lunched  with  him.  The  three 
felt  increasing  nervous  tension  as  the  great  hour 
approached.  As  Taliaferro  donned  his  costume 
in  the  dressing-room  of  the  Coliseum,  his  friends 
made  a  half-hearted  last  attempt  to  dissuade  him 
from  the  adventure. 

"  I  never  yet  saw  anything  gained  by  timid 
ity,"  said  he. 

"  You've  seen  things  lost  by  foolhardiness,"  said 
Sarnette. 

"  What  have  I  to  lose  ?  "  demanded  Taliaferro, 
dropping  for  an  instant  his  jovial  mask. 

"Life,  perhaps,"  said  Sarnette. 

"  I  don't  expect  to,"  said  Taliaferro,  "  but  I  have 
lost  things  more  precious." 

"  Liberty  is  such  a  thing,"  said  Marquando. 


70  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

"  Had  I  known  Tindal  and  De  Castro  would 
be  spectators,"  said  Taliaferro,  «  I  shouldn't  have 
gone  in,  but  now  I've  burned  my  ships.  I'm 
here  as  a  torrero.  As  far  as  I  can  see,  this  is  my 
one  chance,  and  I  will  see  it  through  ! " 

"  Well,"  said  Sarnette,  unexpectedly,  «  you  can 
count  on  me  to  the  last  drop." 

«  And  upon  me,"  said  Marquando. 

Taliaferro  gripped  their  hands. 

The  ring  gleamed  with  the  colors  of  Spain  —  a 
yellow  circle  in  red  tiers  of  seats.  In  the  centre 
of  the  shady  side,  above  two  boxes  draped  in  red, 
white,  and  green,  was  the  shield  of  Mexico  be 
tween  the  Imperial  griffins.  Across  from  it  was 
the  gate  through  which  the  quadrilla  would 
march  out  in  procession,  headed  by  the  mata 
dors. 

The  seats  of  the  sunny  side  filled  with  a  noisy 
crowd  more  or  less  drunk,  a  laughing  crowd 
there  to  see  blood  spilled  —  a  crowd  which  needed 
only  a  touch  to  become  tigerish.  The  authorities 
knew  it.  Every  fifty  feet  was  a  gendarme  with 
club  and  pistol.  Water-barrels  stood  ready  in 
case  of  fire.  Mounted  municipal  guards  lined 
the  streets  about  the  building.  Between  Sol  and 
Sombra  sat  two  hundred  infantrymen,  bayonets 
fixed,  cartridge-boxes  full. 

A  priest  lit  the  candles  in  the  chapel.  Stablemen 
were  grooming  horses.  Chulos  and  banderilleros 
came  in  in  their  brilliant  costumes.  Arrastradors 
donned  their  white  trousers,  red  shirts,  and  yellow 


THE   PLAZA   DE   TOROS  71 

sashes.  These  were  the  "  supes,"  by  Mexicans 
called  "wise  monkeys." 

Taliaferro  sat  blowing  cigarette  smoke.  For 
all  his  cool  exterior,  Sarnette  knew  he  was  ner 
vous.  The  audience  was  so  important,  so  easily 
filled  with  admiration  or  anger ! 

There  was  a  great  cheer  outside. 

«  What  is  it  ?  "  asked  Taliaferro. 

They  told  him  Gavino  was  coming.  Entering 
from  his  carriage,  the  great  espada  shot  a  keen 
glance  at  Taliaferro. 

"  You  do  not  seem  to  realize  what  is  before 
you,  sir,"  he  said. 

"  I  will  soon  look  back  on  it,"  said  Taliaferro. 

"  Unless  you  are  overconfident,"  said  Gavino. 
"  You  have  nothing  to  do  with  the  first  bull. 
Watch  —  watch  the  muleta.  Only  through  igno 
rance  do  you  despise  its  passes.  You  will  see 
them  save  my  life  a  score  of  times." 

"  I'll  try  not  to  disgrace  your  performance," 
said  Taliaferro.  The  torreros  were  not  exactly 
angels,  but  in  his  mind  ran  a  proverb  about  fools 
who  rush  in.  He  had  realized  that  this  business 
of  bull-fighting  was  a  fine  art  and  had  a  definite 
technique.  He  was  about  to  give  a  concert  solo 
without  knowing  the  scales. 

"  Luckily  you  know  how  to  fence,"  said  Sar 
nette,  encouragingly.  "  You  have  the  quickest 
eye  and  hand  I  ever  saw,  and,  after  all,  a  bull's 
horn  is  slower  than  a  man's  sword." 

Taliaferro  smoked  and  assented. 


72  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

It  was  twenty-five  minutes  past  three  o'clock. 
The  amphitheatre  was  packed.  The  shadow  of 
a  cloud  darkened  the  arena  for  a  moment,  and 
then  the  sunlight  beat  once  more  upon  the  seats  of 
Sol.  Men  screened  their  faces  with  newspapers, 
and  hung  handkerchiefs  over  their  hats.  Some 
improvised  umbrellas  by  passing  canes  through 
big  pink  programmes.  The  boxes  buzzed  with 
well-bred  talk.  Fans  closed,  opened,  paused, 
tapped,  pointed.  The  grada  roared  with  ap 
plause  at  the  entrance  of  two  unescorted  women 
in  scarlet.  In  the  tendido,  where  the  critics  sat, 
feet  stamped,  canes  pounded.  Men  stood  up  to  sa 
lute  acquaintances  ;  corks  popped,  glasses  clinked. 

The  quadrilla  assembled  for  the  priest's  bless 
ing.  An  Austrian  band  filed  in  behind  the 
president's  tribune,  arranged  themselves,  and 
played.  The  torreros  drew  their  gorgeous  capes 
about  them  and  formed  their  procession.  First 
stood  Gavino  and  Taliaferro. 

Marshal  and  Madame  Bazaine  entered  their 
box  with  the  Vicomte  and  Vicomtesse  de  Saint- 
Castin  and  half  a  dozen  others.  For  a  moment 
they  were  the  cynosure  of  all  eyes,  and  then 
came  the  Imperial  party.  There  were  the  Cham 
berlains  De  Leon,  Del  Bario,  and  Degollado,  the 
Princess  Iturbide,  the  Count  and  Countess  Khe- 
venhiiller,  Mesdames  Pacheco,  Roman  de  Malo, 
the  Marquesa  de  Guadelupe,  and  her  daughter, 
Seriorita  Elena,  the  «  Lady  of  the  Handkerchief," 
Marquando's  beloved. 


THE   PLAZA  DE   TOROS  73 

"  Carlotta,"  as  her  subjects  endearingly  called 
her,  was  heartily  cheered  when  she  took  her  seat 
beside  Maximilian.  The  Emperor  smiled  and 
bowed.  By  his  command,  there  were  no  police 
between  the  royal  boxes  and  the  plebeian  grada. 

On  the  stroke  of  half-past  three,  the  president 
of  the  ring  entered  his  tribune,  and  the  thunder 
of  applause  drowned  the  music  of  the  band. 
Empire  or  Republic,  it  was  all  one  then !  A 
blare  of  trumpets  !  The  Alguacils,  two  glittering 
riders,  emerged  from  the  torreros'  gate.  Stately 
and  slow,  they  crossed  the  yellow  ring,  and  the 
crowd  grew  quiet  as  though  a  gust  of  wind  had 
suddenly  died  away.  Halting  before  the  tribune, 
the  Alguacils  received  authority  to  set  the  Paseo 
in  motion.  Castilian  courtesy  forbade  turning 
their  backs  upon  the  president,  and  so,  facing 
him  still,  they  backed  their  beautiful  horses 
the  entire  width  of  the  ring,  and  disappeared. 
Again  a  strain  from  the  martial  brass !  The 
band  struck  into  a  slow  march.  The  Alguacils 
rode  forth  again,  behind  them  the  quadrilla 
marched  two  by  two. 

"  Gavino,  Gaviiio  !  "  The  name  burst  forth 
from  ten  thousand  throats.  The  crowd  surged 
to  its  feet. 

"  But  who  is  the  other  —  who  is  the  other 
espada  ?  " 

"  A  torrero  with  a  mustache  !  " 

"  He  has  no  queue."  «  Who  is  he  ?  "  "  The  pro 
gramme  says  Delgado."  "  Delgado  was  hurt  in 


74  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

Queretaro."  "Who  is  it?"  "What  is  he?" 
The  multitude  buzzed  with  unanswered  questions. 

The  Paseo  became  two  brilliant  lines.  Now 
the  matadors  reached  Marshal  Bazaine's  box,  now 
General  Uguarte's.  There  sat  Colonel  Tindal. 
Taliaferro  turned  away  his  face.  Farther  on 
was  a  group  of  ex-Confederates,  —  Dr.  Gwin, 
General  McGruder,  Kirby  Smith,  Governor  Rey 
nolds,  Commodore  Maury.  Taliaferro  saw  the 
commodore's  look  of  astonishment. 

"  There  at  least  are  friends ! "  thought  he, 
thrilled  in  that  hour  and  place  by  the  sight  of 
his  countrymen. 

Then,  like  a  star  shining  from  a  cloud,  in  all 
that  mass  of  heads  and  figures,  Taliaferro  saw 
one  face,  framed  in  a  mantilla  whose  lace  folds 
undulated  down  upon  shoulders  clad  in  cloth 
changeful  and  iridescent  like  the  hues  of  a  dove's 
neck.  Felise  Medina  was  looking  at  Gaviiio. 
Her  glance  passed  carelessly  on  to  the  other 
matador.  Her  fan  slipped  and  fell ;  her  eyes 
grew  wide.  Taliaferro  thrilled  with  the  certainty 
that  she  recognized  him  —  and  not  indifferently  ! 

Her  aunt  and  sister  were  with  her.  Doubtless 
that  was  her  father,  —  the  stately  old  man  who, 
noting  her  agitation,  returned  her  fan. 

In  Roderick's  mind  rose  Gavifio's  phrase  — 
"  the  beautiful  heart."  "  I  wish  I  knew  what 
you  are  thinking  now  ! "  mused  he.  "  I  wish  I 
knew  your  heart !  " 

In  the  tendido  with  Colonel  Lopez  sat  De  Cas- 


THE   PLAZA   DE   TOROS  75 

tro.  Suddenly  he  brought  his  fist  down  on  the 
rail. 

"  Taliaferro  !  "  exclaimed  he,  and  rose  to  go  in 
search  of  Tindal. 

"  Let  the  bull  kill  him,"  advised  Colonel  Lopez, 
and  De  Castro  sat. 

With  jingling  bells  the  caparisoned  mule-teams 
passed  the  president  and  withdrew.  The  tor- 
reros  tossed  their  gold-embroidered  capes  to 
friends  in  the  audience.  Horsemen  posted  them 
selves  along  the  barrier.  Chalos  faced  the  gate 
whence  the  bull  would  come.  The  president 
threw  down  a  key.  An  Alguacil  caught  it  in 
his  hat,  carried  it  to  the  gate  opener,  and  rode 
out  of  the  ring.  Fans  stopped  waving.  Talk 
and  laughter  ceased.  The  vast  circle  of  packed 
humanity  grew  so  still  that  one  heard,  over  in 
the  toril,  the  click  of  the  lock  and  the  rasp  of 
whirring  pulleys. 


IX 

THE    CORRIDA 

OUT  through  the  open  doors  rushed  a  chestnut- 
colored  bull.  A  man  struck  down  from  above 
the  gate  and  fastened  in  his  shoulder  a  little 
barbed  rosette.  It  stung.  Somebody  should 
pay  for  that ! 

The  chulos  were  all  near  the  barrier.  No  one 
cared  to  meet  in  the  centre  of  the  ring  that  first 
unwearied  onslaught.  The  bull  paused,  turn 
ing  his  splendid  eyes  from  man  to  man.  Past 
him,  trailing  a  wide  maroon  cape,  ran  a  chulo. 
Lowering  his  needle-pointed  horns,  Porfiriado 
hurtled  confidently  forward.  The  chulo  dodged. 
Another  and  another  did  the  same.  The  bull 
was  puzzled. 

Beyond  the  fourth  of  the  darting  chulos  sat 
the  picador  Perez,  urging  on  his  unwilling  old 
horse.  The  bull  went  for  him.  •  The  lance 
point  struck  behind  the  shoulders  and  slid  over 
the  ribs  under  the  skin.  The  bull's  weight  on 
the  lance  bent  the  picador  back  like  a  bow  and 
forced  the  horse  to  his  haunches.  The  lance 
held. 

76 


THE  CORRIDA  77 

"  Bravo,  Perez  !  "  shouted  the  crowd. 

Ignoring  pain,  overcoming  pressure,  the  bull 
struggled  in  and  thrust  a  horn  into  the  horse's 
chest. 

"  Bravo,  toro  !  "  shouted  the  people.  "  Bravo, 
Porfiriado  ! " 

The  horse  threw  himself  back,  falling  upon 
Perez,  whose  leg  caught  in  the  chain  armor  of 
the  saddle.  The  lance  slipped  away.  Another 
instant,  and  Perez  would  be  gored.  A  thrill  of 
horror  seized  the  crowd  —  such  horror  as  fasci 
nates  and  is  voluptuous. 

As  the  swallow  skims,  Gavin o's  cape  swept  in. 
The  bull  struck  at  it  —  he  followed  striking,  but 
touch  it  he  could  not. 

They  got  the  horse  up  bleeding,  and  Perez 
mounted  him  again.  Another  picador  stood  the 
charge.  Doubtful  no  longer,  now  that  his  horns 
were  bathed  in  blood,  the  bull  filled  the  ring  with 
dust  and  fury.  It  was  charge  and  dodge,  diver 
sion  and  escape.  Many  a  chulo  went  flying  over 
the  first  barrier.  In  the  second  attack  Perez 
was  forced  to  drop  his  lance  and  cling  for  dear 
life  to  the  palisade. 

The  banderilleros  planted  their  yard-long  darts 
in  pairs,  one  on  each  shoulder  of  the  bull.  The 
rising  horns  were  grazing  the  man's  body  when 
over  them  the  darts  plunged  and  the  man  twisted 
miraculously  away  from  impalement.  The  pain 
of  the  barbed  darts  inflamed  the  bull  still  more, 
but  he  wore  himself  out  in  striking  sidewise  at 


78  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

their  streamers  and  rosettes.  After  one  blind 
rush,  Porfiriado  accepted  no  more  challenges. 
But  whoso  attacked,  let  him  beware ! 

Gavino  advanced  to  the  tribune.  "  Senor  el 
Presidente,"  called  he.  "  To  you  I  dedicate  this 
bull.  I  promise  to  kill  him  if  he  does  not  kill 
me." 

He  faced  the  bull.  His  work  was  with  the 
muleta,  the  square  scarf  which  only  the  matador 
may  use,  of  that  blood-red  most  hateful  to  the 
bull.  Porfiriado  plunged  at  it.  It  swung  out 
to  Gavino's  side,  it  floated  gently  up,  the  bull 
passed  harmlessly  beneath  it  and  Gavino's  arm. 
The  man  had  not  stirred  from  his  tracks ;  the 
bull  had  not  touched  the  flag.  The  naked  sword 
was  waiting.  The  bull  checked  himself,  turned 
around,  stood  still,  and  tried  to  think  how  that 
had  happened.  There  was  the  thing  still  with 
its-  insulting  writhes  and  twists  !  Porfiriado  bel 
lowed  and  made  another  plunge.  Again  he 
missed,  looked  foolish,  and  took  after  a  chulo. 
He  had  lost  faith  in  his  power  to  destroy  the  red 
thing. 

There  it  was  again,  close  in  front  of  his  eyes ; 
but  every  time  he  tried  to  gore  it,  the  scarlet 
enigma  shot  out  of  the  air  and  struck  the  ground 
beneath  his  nose.  Heedless  of  the  waiting  blade, 
he  stood  trying  to  unravel  the  mystery  of  the 
muleta.  0  for  another  fold  in  the  massive 
brain  and  power  to  join  perceptions  into 
thoughts !  All  his  strength  and  courage  availed 


THE   CORRIDA  79 

him  nothing  against  the  human  subtlety  which 
tangled  his  mind  in  these  invisible  meshes. 

The  matador  drew  back  ten  or  twelve  feet. 
The  bull  stood  in  a  kind  of  mesmeric  stupor, 
watching  impotently  that  hateful  red.  The 
matador  pointed  his  sword  at  the  juncture  of 
the  bull's  shoulders,  sighting  along  the  blade  as 
though  it  were  a  rifle-barrel.  He  ran  forward  on 
tiptoe,  with  low  muleta.  Down  went  the  wide 
horns,  but  before  they  rose,  there  was  a  flick 
of  light,  a  sting  of  steel,  and  the  sword  stood 
half  buried  between  the  toro's  shoulders.  Up 
plunged  the  great  head,  but  Gavino  had  leaped 
back.  Rolling  his  muleta  into  a  ball,  he  tossed 
it  aside,  and  remained  weaponless,  without  the 
safeguard  of  the  flag,  staking  his  life  upon 
the  effectiveness  of  that  one  sword-stroke.  The 
bull  took  a  step  toward  the  enemy  thus  plainly 
revealed.  He  coughed ;  blood  poured  from  his 
nostrils.  His  knees  bent ;  a  look  of  incredulity 
entered  his  heroic  eyes.  Gavino  raised  his  hand 
and  stood  rigid,  as  though  commanding  the  bull 
to  die.  The  bull  took  another  step  and  yet  an 
other,  held  up  by  his  unconquered  will.  Three 
more  steps  and  he  would  die  avenged.  One  step 
and  he  reeled,  two  and  he  lowered  his  horns. 
Gavino  was  ready  to  spring  back,  but  did  not 
look  it.  He  would  lose  his  artistic  triumph  if  he 
did.  But  though  the  third  step  was  taken,  the 
lowered  horns  had  sunk  forever.  Death  was  too 
strong,  and  Porfiriado  sank  grandly  to  the  ground. 


80  RODERICK  TALIAFERRO 

His  breath  clouded  the  silver  buckle  of  the  mata 
dor's  shoe. 

A  many-throated  roar  of  approbation  broke 
the  silence.  Gaviiio  had  never  done  a  finer 
thing.  Shouts  rang,  sombreros  sailed,  cigars  and 
money  rained  about  him.  Gaviiio  stood  bowing. 
He  picked  up  a  sombrero  and  sailed  it  with 
unerring  aim  far  up  the  grada  into  its  owner's 
hands. 

A  "  wise  monkey  "  gave  the  bull  his  stroke  of 
mercy.  The  gay  mule  teams  came  prancing  in  ; 
lassos  were  attached  to  the  bodies  of  Porfiriado 
and  his  victims,  and  they  were  dragged  away, 
leaving  long  trails  in  the  sandy  sawdust.  The 
band  played  lively  music. 

Taliaferro  had  watched  Gaviiio  intently.  Now 
it  was  his  turn.  He  believed  he  could  kill  the 
bull,  but  after  Gavino's  exhibition,  he  realized 
how  far  mere  killing  was  from  the  real  thing. 
He  was  afraid  of  being  hissed  —  before  the  soci 
ety  of  Mexico  —  before  the  Emperor  and  his 
court  —  before  the  girl  whose  beauty  had  brought 
him  there.  His  heart  beat  hard. 

Handing  sword  and  muleta  to  an  attendant, 
he  vaulted  the  barrier,  took  the  wide  cape,  and 
stood  waiting.  Again  the  picadors  were  ranged, 
laughter  and  jeers  subsided,  the  toril  doors  flew 
back. 

Out  of  the  darkness  viciously  rushed  Alacran. 
He  attacked  a  chulo  not  far  from  Taliaferro. 
The  man  turned  toward  the  barrier,  but  looking 


THE   CORRIDA  81 

back  over  his  shoulder,  he  missed  his  footing  and 
went  down  before  the  charging  bull.  Taliaferro 
rushed  forward.  His  cape  was  managed  clumsily 
enough.  It  caught  on  the  bull's  horns,  blinding, 
but  not  checking  him.  By  main  strength,  Talia 
ferro  swung  the  animal  from  his  course.  Scram 
bling  to  his  feet  and  over  the  barrier,  the  chulo 
looked  back  shaking  like  a  leaf.  Waving  capes 
surrounded  the  bull,  who  paused  an  instant  in 
confusion.  The  audience  sank  back  relieved. 
Only  the  more  critical  noted  that  the  rescuer's 
method  was  crude,  and  saw  that  his  cape  had 
been  torn.  Quickness  was  the  main  thing,  and 
the  stranger  had  shown  it. 

Taliaferro's  nervousness  was  gone ;  his  facul 
ties  joyously  quickened  to  the  danger  of  the 
great  game.  He  had  touched  the  bull,  and  felt 
his  bovine  strength ;  he  had  smelled  the  sweet 
breath  and  the  sweaty  hair. 

Alacran  fought  magnificently.  When  a  spear 
point  pierced  him,  he  treated  it  like  a  fly  bite  and 
brushed  it  with  his  tail.  He  killed  two  horses, 
and  chased  chulo  after  chulo  over  the  five-foot 
barrier.  Once  he  leaped  over  in  pursuit. 

Perez  had  not  brought  his  horse  to  stand  the 
charge.  People  hissed.  The  picador's  nerve  was 
shaken  by  his  fall  in  the  first  fight.  Twice  he 
avoided  Alacran.  He  heard  catcalls  and  descrip 
tions  of  himself,  and  resolved  to  stand  the  shock. 

The  bull  charged  from  the  side,  the  spear 
failed  to  take  hold.  The  horns  ploughed  into 


82  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

the  horse,  and  lifted  him  clean  off  his  feet.  The 
man  fell  underneath,  and  that  blazing  fury 
plunged  his  prongs  after  the  man  —  once 

twice  !  Gavino's  cape  drew  him  off  —  too 

late! 

They  lifted  the  horse.  Taliaferro  drew  out 
the  limp  form  of  Perez.  Thigh  and  chest  were 
soaked  in  his  own  blood. 

Seiiora  'Toinette  in  the  tendido  gave  a  scream 
and  collapsed.  Nicolito  began  to  cry.  Taliaferro 
carried  the  unconscious  picador  to  the  dressing- 
room. 

"  Where's  the  surgeon  ?  "  he  shouted. 

"  One  has  gone  for  instruments,"  said  an 
attendant. 

It  was  five  years  since  Taliaferro  had  attended 
a  clinic,  but  he  knew  this  case  was  grave.  He 
stripped  back  the  clothing.  There  was  a  sharp, 
deep  cut  in  the  thigh.  Jets  of  blood  pulsed  out 
regularly  —  a  little  intermittent  fountain. 

"  God !  "  exclaimed  Taliaferro,  "  the  femoral !  " 
He  sent  an  arrastrador  for  thread. 

Sarnette  entered. 

"  Your  knife  and  your  handkerchief ! "  de 
manded  Taliaferro.  Drawing  the  handkerchief 
around  the  thigh  above  the  cut,  he  knotted  its 
ends  about  the  knife.  "  Now  twist."  Sarnette 
obeyed,  the  tourniquet  tightened,  the  red  foun 
tain  sank.  «  Thread,"  he  said  again  ;  «  can't  you 
make  these  fellows  understand  I  must  have 
thread  ?  " 


THE   CORRIDA  83 

The  arrastrador  came  back  with  a  ball  of  yarn. 
Taliaferro  swore.  Then  with  inspiration  he 
turned  down  his  silk  stocking,  slit  it,  and  tried 
to  unravel  it. 

"  Begin  at  the  bottom,"  said  Sarnette. 

Taliaferro  removed  his  shoe,  tore  off  the  foot 
of  the  stocking,  and  the  thread  unravelled. 

"  It's  the  femoral  artery,"  he  said,  as  his  red 
dened  fingers  groped.  "  I've  never  done  this. 
It  has  to  be  done  now,  or  he  dies." 

The  noise  of  applause  came  in  from  the  amphi 
theatre.  The  surgeon  in  Taliaferro  had  forgotten 
the  matador. 

"  Clean  cut !  "  he  grunted.  "  Laceration  would 
have  dammed  it  up  some.  There  !  I've  got  one ! " 
He  succeeded  in  tying  one  of  the  severed  ends. 
It  took  him  several  rninutes  to  repeat  the  trick 
with  the  other.  Then  he  eased  off  the  tourni 
quet.  The  knots  held.  Turning  his  attention  to 
the  ribs,  he  cut  away  the  shirt,  and  sponged  out 
the  gash  with  its  rags.  An  arrastrador  ran  in 
from  the  arena. 

"  Senor  Taliaferro  !  "  shouted  he,  "  the  bande- 
rillas  are  placed  !  The  people  wait  for  you  !  " 

"  The  people  can  go  to  the  devil,"  said 
Taliaferro. 

"  Senor  Gavino  tried  to  take  your  place,  and 
the  people  will  not  have  it.  They  are  calling  for 
the  new  matador." 

"  They  can  keep  on  calling.     I'm  busy  !  " 

The  arrastrador  was  in  despair. 


84  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

"  The  surgeon  is  coming,  seiior,"  remonstrated 
another. 

"  He  is,  is  he  ?  I  suppose  he  thinks  a  femoral 
artery  can  bleed  all  day !  Without  instru 
ments,"  he  said  to  Sarnette,  "  I  can't  do  a  thing 
with  these  splinters." 

"  The  doctor  is  here,"  cried  some  one,  and  in  he 
came. 

«  Your  forceps  !  "  demanded  Taliaferro,  intent 
on  his  object. 

The  surgeon,  an  Austrian  named  Basch,  looked 
at  the  thigh.  "  H'm  !  Tied  it  up,  eh  ?  I  didn't 
know  it  was  an  artery.  Pretty  good  job."  He 
started  to  work  at  the  splinters.  Taliaferro 
instantly  recognized  his  own  inferiority. 

"  Where's  that  sword  ?  "  he  demanded. 

From  the  arena  came  an  ugly,  derisive  clamor. 
Angered  by  the  indifference  the  people  showed 
toward  Perez,  Taliaferro  grasped  sword  and 
muleta,  slipped  on  his  shoe,  strode  out  and 
vaulted  the  barrier  into  the  arena.  Ten  thou 
sand  pairs  of  eyes  were  instantly  upon  him.  His 
jacket  was  stained  with  blood,  his  stocking  in 
tatters.  He  was  hailed  with  hisses,  whistles, 
indignant  shouts. 

"  The  stranger  is  afraid  of  Alacran  !  "  "  Ho  ! 
ho  !  Look  at  his  leg  !  "  "  He  has  lost  a  stocking 
flying  from  the  bull !  " 

Facing  the  storm,  Taliaferro  marched  up  to 
the  tribune,  and  stood,  waiting  for  a  chance  to 
speak. 


THE   CORRIDA  85 

"  Hear  him  !  Listen  !  Shut  up  !  See  what  he 
says  !  "  came  the  shouts.  Finally  the  only  hisses 
were  for  silence. 

He  spoke  in  French.  "  Monsieur  le  President," 
he  said,  "  Perez  had  an  artery  severed.  I've  been 
tying  it.  There  was  no  thread,  and  I  had  to  use 
my  stocking.  This  audience  is  brutally  indif 
ferent  to  the  man  whose  life  may  be  a  sacrifice 
for  their  amusement !  " 

French  officers  cheered. 

"  What  does  he  say  ?  "  shouted  Mexicans. 

The  president  signalled  for  silence,  and  trans 
lated  part  of  Taliaferro's  speech.  There  was  a 
hearty  outburst  of  applause,  but  some  who  under 
stood  French  translated  the  "  insult "  to  the 
people.  The  president  pronounced  Taliaferro's 
name  as  it  was  spelled.  Colonel  Tindal  did  not 
recognize  it.  Felise  Medina  marked  it  well. 
Her  agitation  was  unconcealable. 

There  was  Alacran,  savage  and  untamed,  try 
ing  to  shake  himself  free  from  the  torturing  ban- 
derillas.  Delay  had  rested  him.  Taliaferro  had 
never  feared  the  bull,  and  for  the  moment  had 
ceased  to  care  for  the  people's  opinion.  He 
simply  meant  to  kill  Alacran,  and  kill  him  quick. 

Unconscious  of  aught  but  his  opponent,  the 
forgotten  muleta  in  his  left  hand,  the  well- 
remembered  sword  in  his  right,  Taliaferro  ap 
proached  the  bull,  and  the  bull  charged.  The 
red  stain  on  that  jacket  was  his  mark.  The 
matador  was  in  no  mood  to  use  his  newly  learned 


86  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

passes.  He  was  governed  by  elemental  passion, 
not  by  art.  Motionless  he  waited,  but  motion 
less  as  a  bent  steel  spring  —  still  as  a  cat  before 
his  leap. 

«  The  muleta  ! "  shouted  Gaviiio.  "  The  right 
pass ! " 

There  was  no  muleta,  and  no  right  pass. 
There  was  only  a  rush  of  hoofs,  a  surge  of 
horns,  a  spring,  a  thrust,  a  shock  —  and  then 
Taliaferro  spun  sidewise  along  the  ground  as 
though  thrown  from  a  catapult. 

"  Mary  protect  him  !  "  prayed  Felise. 

Checked  for  an  instant,  the  bull  plunged 
heavily  on,  swerving  to  the  right.  The  man 
lay  in  his  path.  Gavino  started  on  the  run,  but 
saw  he  would  be  too  late.  The  bull  stumbled, 
but  his  fall  carried  him  —  with  lowered  horns  — 
upon  the  man.  But  no,  for  as  he  fell,  the  man 
rolled,  staggered  to  his  feet,  and  where  he  had 
lain  the  bull  went  down,  stone  dead. 

The  audience  had  risen  as  though  impelled  by  an 
electric  shock.  For  an  instant,  the  multitude  was 
dumb  —  the  thing  was  so  sudden,  so  unheard-of, 
so  horribly  beautiful !  When  the  man  rose,  not 
dead,  and  the  bull  fell,  not  living,  there  was  one 
universal  gasp,  and  then  one  mighty  shout. 

By  accident,  Taliaferro  had  made  the  greatest 
of  estocadas,  retaining  the  sword  after  the  mortal 
stroke. 

"  But  why  isn't  he  killed  ?  "  asked  one.  «  Why 
wasn't  he  gored  when  the  bull  struck  him  ?  " 


'  There  was  only  a  rush  of  hoofs,  a  surge  of  horns,  a  spring, 
a  thrust,  a  shock — "  .   .  . 


THE   CORRIDA  87 

"  He  leaped  out  to  miss  the  horns,  and  in  to 
plant  the  sword,"  said  another. 

"  A  movement  no  school  could  sanction,"  said 
the  greatest  critic  of  the  corrida,  "  but,  merciful 
God,  how  quick !  It  was  the  shoulder  that 
knocked  him  down." 

The  people  did  not  analyze.  They  shouted, 
threw  sombreros,  showered  coins.  The  Emperor, 
who  knew  the  corrida  from  the  days  of  Lucas 
Blanca,  threw  down  the  newly  minted  twenty- 
peso  piece  that  bore  the  image  of  himself. 

Growing  less  dazed,  Taliaferro  picked  this  up, 
looked  from  image  to  original,  and  bowed.  For 
a  moment  he  thought  of  nothing  in  the  world 
but  that  Hapsburgian  face  with  its  blue  eyes, 
and  parted  golden  beard,  and  drooping  lower 
lip. 

Gavino  pressed  Taliaferro's  hand.  "  It 
was  not  bull-fighting,"  he  said,  "but  it  was 
magnificent." 

Taliaferro  tried  to  speak,  but  failed. 

"  Are  you  hurt  ?  "  asked  Gavino. 

Taliaferro  shook  his  head.  "  No  breath,"  he 
said. 

Walking  in  the  gaze  of  ten  thousand  pairs  of 
eyes,  a  woman  entered  the  arena  with  a  little  boy. 
She  came  to  Taliaferro,  and  knelt,  and  kissed  his 
hand. 

«  He  will  live,"  said  Senora  'Toinette.  «  The 
surgeon  says  that,  thanks  to  you,  he'll  live  ! " 

"  That's  fine  !  "  said  Taliaferro.     He  drew  her 


88  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

to  her  feet,  and  shook  her  hand.  "  Let's  get  out 
of  this ! " 

Word  ran  through  the  throng  that  these 
were  the  wife  and  child  of  Perez,  and  the  scene 
stirred  the  depths  of  the  Latin  heart.  Even  the 
boxes  went  wild.  Handkerchiefs,  bracelets, 
pocket-knives,  fans,  rolls  of  bills,  parasols,  fell 
and  fluttered  over  the  barrier.  Anything  that 
would  come  loose  and  had  value  was  thrown 
down.  Time  after  time  Taliaferro  had  to  ac 
knowledge  the  ovation.  He  tried  to  return  a 
parasol,  but  the  lady's  escort  said  she  begged 
him  to  keep  it. 

Sarnette  and  Marquando  greeted  him  with 
delight. 

"  Gentlemen,"  said  he,  dolefully,  "  what  shall 
I  do  with  fifty  black  parasols  ?  " 

"  Start  a  ladies'  lottery,"  suggested  Marquando. 

"  R.  Taliaferro.  Dry  goods  and  jewellery. 
Black  parasols  a  specialty,"  said  Sarnette. 

But  there  were  three  more  bulls  to  be  killed,  and 
one  of  them  by  Taliaferro. 

"  I  am  sure  it  is  Major  Taliaferro,"  said  Com 
modore  Maury.  « I  hope  others  have  not  recog 
nized  him,  for  he  has  enemies  here  more  dangerous 
than  the  bull." 

"Wait,  Don  Jos6,"  said  Colonel  Lopez.  "It 
would  enrage  the  people  to  arrest  him  now.  He 
is  a  bungler.  The  next  bull  may  kill  him.  This 


THE   CORRIDA  89 

one  came  near  it.  At  least  he  may  be  hissed. 
The  crowd  is  fickle  as  wind.  Arrest  him  when 
the  people  have  dispersed." 

"  Carrajo  !  "  exclaimed  Don  Jose.  "  The  eyes 
of  Felise  never  left  him  !  It  is  not  rouge  —  that 
crimson  in  her  cheeks.  When  he  lay  in  the  bull's 
path,  her  face  was  pale  as  paper." 

"  She  rewarded  Gavino,  but  not  Taliaferro," 
said  Lopez,  consolingly.  "  It  was  her  sister 
threw  the  fan." 

"  Are  you  blind  ?  "  cried  Don  Jose.  "  She  did 
not  reward  him  because  she  loves  him  ! " 

"  He  is  wholly  without  technique,"  said  the 
grand  chamberlain,  Velasquez  de  Leon.  "  He 
made  no  use  at  all  of  the  muleta." 

"  He  never  saw  a  bull  before,"  assented  the 
chamberlain,  Neri  del  Bario,  anxious  to  air  his 
knowledge  of  the  corrida. 

"  All  the  more  creditable  to  his  courage ! " 
retorted  the  chivalrous  Count  Khevenhiiller. 

"  It  was  a  brave  act,"  said  the  Emperor.  « I 
never  experienced  a  more  thrilling  moment." 

"  For  tying  that  artery,"  said  the  Empress,  "  he 
deserves  the  Cross  of  Guadelupe." 

"  He  should  not  have  boasted  of  it,"  replied 
the  Emperor. 

"  Was  he  not  forced,  sire,  to  explain  his  de 
lay  ?  "  asked  Count  Khevenhiiller. 

"Very  possibly,"  coldly  replied  the  Emperor, 
who  could  not  bear  even  an  implied  contradiction. 


90  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

"  But  that  stocking  !  "  exclaimed  the  Marquesa 
de  Guadelupe.  "  It  would  have  been  superhu 
man  not  to  explain  that ! "  The  sally  brought  a 
cloud-dispelling  smile. 

The  ring  was  cleared,  the  trumpet  blew,  the  next 
bull  entered.  Chulos,  picadors,  and  banderilleros 
played  their  parts.  Gavirio  promised  the  Em 
peror  "  to  kill  this  bull  if  he  does  not  kill  me." 

The  bull  did  not  kill  him.  Hypnotizing  his 
antagonist,  Gavirio  carelessly  turned  his  back 
and  walked  away.  He  received  another  dem 
onstration  of  public  approbation.  He  conquered 
the  bull  by  intellect,  subduing  the  animal  mind. 
His  performance  was  a  type  of  human  conquest 
since  the  world  began,  and  hence  held  something 
symbolic,  like  a  poem.  Compared  with  this 
skill,  this  graceful  dignity,  the  stranger's  feat 
was,  after  all,  but  the  brutal  slaying  of  a  brute. 
Taking  the  audience  by  surprise,  the  new  matador 
had  mingled  pure  art  with  things  extraneous  — 
surgery  and  human  gratitude.  Every  one  waited 
to  see  what  "  Cirujano  "  (the  surgeon),  as  they 
nicknamed  him,  would  do  with  his  next  bull. 

He  was  not  in  good  shape,  having  found  that 
to  be  knocked  down  by  a  bull  in  no  wise  steadies 
a  man  about  to  face  another. 

Alicente  entered  playfully.  He  was  a  young, 
black  fellow  who  enjoyed  being  alive,  and  wore 
a  scarlet  ribbon  on  his  horn.  He  had  been  the 
pet  of  an  Indian  girl  up  at  Atenco,  and  now  he 


THE   CORRIDA  91 

wanted  only  to  romp  with  the  picadors.  The 
first  lance  hurt  his  feelings  more  than  it  did  his 
flesh.  When  at  last  he  realized  that  this  was 
hatred,  he  became  only  less  terrible  than  savage 
Alacran.  Taliaferro  found  himself  taking  sides 
with  Alicente,  and  hoping  he  would  kill  the  men. 
They  were  too  skilful  —  they  knew  his  weak 
nesses  too  well. 

The  banderillas  were  placed  —  there  was  a  lull ; 
no  one  provoked  Alicente,  who  stood  brooding 
over  his  wrongs.  All  eyes  turned  upon  Talia 
ferro,  hoping  that  his  dedication  of  the  bull 
might  give  some  clew  to  his  identity.  He  ap 
proached  the  seats  of  the  Medinas. 

From  the  half-dozen  glances  that  had  passed 
between  the  Confederate  soldier  and  the  Mexican 
girl  had  sprung  all  this  adventure  of  quarrel  and 
corrida.  And  yet,  until  this  moment,  no  relation 
between  two  people  could  possibly  have  been 
more  vague,  more  unacknowledged.  Marquando 
would  have  revelled  in  a  situation  so  airy.  But 
the  American,  though  quixotically  contending 
with  bulls  and  rivals,  was  not  content  with  the 
distant  worship  of  Dulcina.  He  caught  at  the 
dedication  as  something  positive,  something  she 
could  not  forget  or  overlook.  As  he  approached, 
she  grew  afraid.  Surely,  in  his  ignorance  of 
usage,  he  was  not  going  to  dedicate  a  bull  to 
her! 

He  saluted,  and  spoke  in  well-rehearsed  Span 
ish.  "  To  General  Don  Miguel  Medina  I  dedicate 


92  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

this   bull.     I    promise    to    kill    Alicente  — "    he 
paused  significantly  —  "  if  he  does  not  kill  me." 

Though  taken  by  surprise,  Don  Miguel  rose, 
and,  with  grave  courtesy,  acknowledged  the 
honor.  He  had  the  carriage  of  some  stately  sol 
dier  of  Carlos  V.  With  the  salute  of  an  officer 
presenting  arms,  the  matador  turned  away. 

"  Why  should  he  dedicate  the  bull  to  me  ? " 
asked  Don  Miguel. 

Senorita  Felise  looked  demure. 

"  The  American  again  ? "  said  Doiia  Casilda. 
She  put  up  her  glass.  "  It  is, "  she  said  ;  "  upon 
my  word,  I  believe  it  is  he ! " 

Don  Miguel  looked  inquisitive. 

"Our  horses  fell  on  the  Paseo, "  explained 
Felise,  -'and  this  gentleman  came  to  our  assist 
ance." 

/ 

"Do  you  call  torreros  gentlemen,  Felise  ?"  in 
quired  Don  Miguel,  drawing  out  a  purse  of 
silver. 

"  If  I  were  you, "  said  Felise,  "  I  would  keep 
that  till  the  torrero  wears  a  queue  and  no 
mustache." 

"  Others  have  not  waited, "  said  Don  Miguel. 

"Many  do  not  know  a  gentleman  when  they 
see  him,"  said  she.  Then  she  laid  her  hand  ten 
derly  on  his  sleeve,  and  over  her  fan  unmasked  the 
battery  of  her  eyes.  "  Please  don't !  "  begged  she. 

He  didn't. 

At  Taliaferro's  dedication,  De  Castro  sprang 
up,  and  made  his  way  to  General  Uguarte's  box. 


THE   CORRIDA  93 

"  Colonel  Tindal, "  said  he,  "  you  permit  your 
official  decisions  to  be  brazenly  disregarded  ! " 

The  colonel  quailed.  "  I'm  sure  there  must 
be  some  mistake,  General,"  he  said  soothingly. 
« i " 

"  Yes,  decidedly  ! "  cut  in  Don  Jose.  "  Look 
at  the  matador  !  " 

The  colonel  looked  and  was  puzzled. 

"  The  American  Tolliver ! "  said  De  Castro. 
"  I  believe  you  expelled  him  from  the  city, " 
added  he,  for  General  Uguarte's  enlightenment. 

The  colonel  swore.  "I  had  positive  informa 
tion,  General,  that  this  man  left  the  city  within 
two  hours." 

"  Of  course  he  could  not  return ! "  sneered  De 
Castro. 

"  Lieutenant ! "  called  Tindal,  to  a  young  officer 
of  gendarmes. 

"  Take  a  squad  and  seize  the  matador  Talia- 
ferro  the  moment  he  steps  from  the  arena.  You 
will  personally  see  that  he  is  safely  lodged  in 
Belen.  Thank  you,  General  de  Castro, "  he  said. 
"  The  man  will  be  in  prison  within  the  hour." 

Don  Jose  returned  with  satisfaction  to  his  seat. 

Taliaferro  was  inviting  Alicente  to  charge. 
Much  warier  than  he  had  been  with  Alacran,  he 
spread  out  the  muleta  for  the  bull's  inspection. 
He  was  anxious  this  time  to  kill  regularly. 
With  a  blood-chilling  movement  of  lowering 
horns,  Alicente  charged.  For  the  life  of  him 
Taliaferro  could  not  keep  from  dodging.  A 


94  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

mark  went  on  the  score-cards  against  the  ma 
tador.  Turning  short,  Alicente  charged  back. 
Taliaferro  got  the  scarf  out  to  one  side  and 
stood  waiting.  On  came  the  bull. 

"  Will  he  really  strike  at  the  flag  ?  "  thought 
Taliaferro.  It  took  nerve  to  stand  and  let  the 
bull  choose  between  himself  and  a  piece  of  cloth. 

R-r-r-p  went  the  muleta,  catching  on  the  horns. 
The  bull  shook 'and  worried  the  cloth.  Another 
black  mark  for  Taliaferro.  He  had  failed  to  pass 
the  muleta,  and  the  audience  groaned  its  disgust. 

"  Here  !  "  shouted  Gavino.     "  Take  mine  !  " 

But,  stung  by  the  popular  jeers,  Taliaferro 
charged  the  bull,  and  snatched  the  dusty  rem 
nants  of  his  flag.  Alicente  struck  at  him  vi 
ciously.  Taliaferro  met  the  blow  with  his  sword, 
the  point  ploughing  a  red  furrow  beneath  the 
animal's  eye. 

"  Foul !  "  yelled  the  crowd.     "  Fight  fair  !  " 

Taliaferro  was  desperate.  Whatever  he  did 
seemed  to  be  wrong.  He  had  rather  prided  him 
self  on  that  recapture  of  his  colors. 

"  Didn't  I  say  so  ?  "  gloated  Lopez.  "  They 
will  drive  him  from  the  ring." 

"  He  will  be  welcomed  in  the  dressing-room," 
chuckled  Don  Jose.  In  the  gateway  stood  gen 
darmes,  watching  the  performance  of  the  man 
who  would  be  their  prisoner  if  he  escaped  the 
bull. 

Imitating  Gavino,  Taliaferro  passed  the  muleta 
back  and  forth  before  the  bull's  eyes.  He  could 


THE   CORRIDA  95 

not  secure  that  hypnotic  control.  His  point  shot 
with  force  at  the  base  of  the  neck.  As  he  struck, 
the  bull  raised  his  head,  and  the  sword,  instead 
of  entering,  glanced  off  the  shoulder-blade,  and 
merely  tore  the  skin. 

"  Butcher  !  "  shouted  the  crowd. 

The  stroke  infuriated  Alicente,  who  leaped  at 
his  antagonist,  tossing  his  head  high.  Taliaferro 
barely  escaped.  Stung  by  his  unsuccess,  he  got 
face  to  face  again,  waving  the  flag  so  close  that 
Alicente  backed  to  bring  his  eyes  in  focus,  then 
threw  his  weight  forward,  head  down.  As  he 
came,  Taliaferro  lunged.  A  horn  gashed  his 
arm,  but  the  sword  went  home  at  last. 

The  warlike  lines  of  Alicente's  figure  melted ; 
the  expression  of  the  mortally  wounded  came 
into  his  beautiful  eyes.  Man  or  bull,  it  is  the 
same  intense  realization  of  the  end  —  the  feeling 
that  something  all-important  must  be  remem 
bered,  and  yet  there  is  not  time.  Taliaferro 
knew  that  look.  At  Three  Oaks,  amid  shrap 
nel,  he  had  seen  it  on  his  father's  face.  It  was 
life  itself,  the  wonted  thought  of  "  I,"  which  the 
distorting  soul  grasped  at  and  could  not  find. 

Alicente  sank  down  dying. 

"  My  part  is  played,"  thought  Taliaferro. 

A  man  severed  the  spinal  cord  of  the  bull. 
That  was  over.  The  matador  drew  the  scarlet 
square  tight  over  his  arm,  and  turned  away  from 
the  glazing  bovine  eyes.  The  dense  rows  of  the 
audience  buzzed  with  comment,  but  there  was 


96  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

no  applause.  No  sombrero  sailed,  no  handker 
chief  fluttered  over  the  barrier. 

Roderick  looked  at  Felise  whom  he  had  seen 
vibrating  to  the  terrible  emotions  of  the  corrida. 
Would  she  share  the  universal  disapproval  ?  Her 
gaze  was  full  upon  him. 

« I'm  so  sorry  !  "  said  her  eyes. 

Stung  by  her  pity,  he  frowned  and  looked 
away.  That,  too,  she  divined.  Loosing  the  rose 
at  her  bosom,  she  threw  it  down,  before  the  eyes 
of  Imperial  Mexico,  at  the  feet  of  the  torrero 
who  had  failed. 

A  drop  of  his  blood  fell  on  it  as  he  picked  it 
up.  He  blew  the  sawdust  from  its  petals,  and 
bowed  to  her  with  joy.  Here  at  last  was  some 
thing  positive  and  unmistakable  —  something  to 
supplement  and  secure  the  intangible  and  fleeting 
speech  of  eyes.  Years  might  pass,  but  the  dark 
ened  dust  of  the  rose  would  testify  that  in  their 
silent  drama  she  had  been  something  more  than 
a  mere  breathing  picture. 

At  the  girl's  conspicuous  act,  a  fresh  wave  of 
talk  swept  through  the  boxes. 

"  Felise  !  "  remonstrated  Seiiora  Prado.  "  With 
every  one  looking  !  For  shame  !  " 

"  Shame  ?  "  cried  the  girl.  "  The  shame  would 
be  not  to  acknowledge  now  the  honor  he  paid 
my  father ! " 

Don  Miguel  looked  at  her  flashing  eyes.  «  They 
can  annul  a  patent  of  nobility,"  mused  he,  whose 
father  had  been  Marques  de  Medina,  "  but  they 


THE   CORRIDA  97 

will  not  soon  annul  a  dozen  generations  of  chiv- 
alric  life  !  "  "That  was  brave,  Felise,"  said  he. 

She  pressed  his  hand  gratefully. 

"  She  will  be  talked  about,"  said  Madame 
Bazaine. 

"  Who  can  the  man  be  ?  "  cried  the  Vicomtesse 
de  Saint-Castin.  "  Where  did  Felise  get  him  ? 
Isn't  it  interesting?" 

"  Look,"  said  Madame  Bazaine.  "  Her  father 
approves.  Isn't  he  a  dear  for  that !  If  he  didn't, 
Senora  Prado  would  nag  her  to  death." 

"  I  am  consumed  with  curiosity,"  said  the 
vicomtesse.  "  Dear  me  !  Doesn't  any  one  know 
who  this  matador  is  ?  " 

No  one  seemed  to  know. 

Don  Jose  was  furious.  Both  success  and  failure 
seemed  to  favor  his  rival.  "Wait,  Mister  Talia- 
ferro  ! "  exclaimed  he.  "  Your  rose  won't  save 
you  from  the  gendarmes." 

Taliaferro  started  toward  the  passage  to  the 
dressing-room.  Inside  it  he  saw  the  gendarmes. 
Sarnette  came  out  to  meet  him. 

"  Don't  go  in  there,"  he  warned.  "  They're 
waiting  to  arrest  you  ! " 

Taliaferro  looked  around  for  another  exit. 
Into  the  opening  under  the  tribune,  the  mule 
team  was  dragging  the  slain  bull.  Stepping 
back  to  let  the  body  pass  were  gendarmes. 
Each  side  the  toril  in  the  corridor  were  gen 
darmes.  Gendarmes  stood  in  every  tier  above 
the  barrier. 


98  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

"  I'm  gone,"  he  said.  "  It's  a  rat-trap."  He 
started  again  toward  the  dressing-room. 

"Make  them  come  out  after  you,"  said  Sar- 
nette,  stopping  him.  "Let  the  people  see  the 
arrest  —  they  may  prevent  it." 

"  I  don't  want  them  to  see  it,"  said  Taliaferro. 

"It's  your  best  chance,"  insisted  Sarnette. 
"  You  made  a  hit  with  your  first  bull.  Give  the 
crowd  a  chance  to  take  your  side." 

"  My  arm  is  cut,"  said  Taliaferro.  "  I  want 
that  surgeon  to  tie  it  up." 

"  I'll  send  him  out,"  said  Sarnette. 

Taliaferro  looked  at  the  precious  rose  and 
vowed  she  should  not  see  the  arrest  of  the  man 
to  whom  she  had  given  it.  Sarnette  lifted  the 
sheltering  muleta  and  saw  the  wound. 

"  Come,"  said  he,  seeing  the  lieutenant  of  gen 
darmes  approaching.  "  Sit  down  here  in  the 
shade.  I'll  send  the  surgeon  out." 

"  It  is  my  duty  to  arrest  you,  sir,"  said  the 
lieutenant,  coming  up.  "  If  you  follow  me 
quietly,  it  will  save  you  the  publicity." 

"  Thanks  for  that,"  said  Taliaferro.  "  I  want 
the  surgeon.  I'm  losing  blood." 

He  passed  in  with  the  lieutenant,  and  no  one 
outside  knew  of  his  arrest. 

Sarnette  hastened  toward  the  box  of  Marshal 
Bazaine.  On  the  way  he  passed  Commodore 
Maury,  and  told  him  what  had  happened. 

"  Intercede  with  the  Emperor,"  he  said,  and 
hurried  on. 


THE   CORRIDA  99 

"  May  I  speak  with  Marshal  Bazaine  ? "  he 
asked,  saluting  an  officer-  near  the  door  of  the 
box. 

"  What  about  ? "  asked  the  officer,  sharply. 
"  This  is  no  time  for  business." 

"  Why,  it's  the  Vicomte  de  Sarnette,"  said  the 
Vicomtesse  de  Saint-Castin.  "  How  do  you  do, 
Vicomte  ?  " 

The  whole  party  turned  toward  the  sergeant, 
who  doffed  his  helmet  to  the  ladies  and  stood  at 
attention. 

"  Sir,  I  wish  to  speak  of  the  American  gentle 
man  who  has  just  acted  as  matador,"  said  he, 
answering  the  officer's  question. 

"  Is  he  an  American  ?  "  cried  the  Vicomtesse. 

"  What  is  it,  Sergeant  ?  "  asked  the  marshal. 

"  Sir,  Major  Taliaferro  of  the  Confederate  army 
has,  this  moment,  been  unjustly  arrested." 

"For  what?"  asked  the  marshal. 

"  A  private  quarrel,  sir.  The  man  who  pro 
voked  it  goes  scot  free  through  political  influence. 
The  major  is  sentenced  to  prison  without  trial." 

"  By  whom  ? "  came  the  quick,  emphatic 
question. 

«  Colonel  Tindal,  sir." 

"  I  have  no  authority  over  the  gendarmerie. 
You  should  know  that,  Sergeant  Sarnette," 
snapped  the  marshal,  turning  his  back. 

Sarnette  had  to  salute  and  withdraw. 

"  I  think  it's  a  shame  !  "  broke  out  Taliaferro's 
countrywoman,  the  Vicomtesse  de  Saint-Castin. 


100  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

Captain  Saint-Castin,  the  marshal's  "  officer  of 
ordonnance,"  looking  intently  across  the  arena, 
stepped  warningly  on  his  wife's  toe.  The  lady 
drew  the  member  out  of  reach,  and  asked  Madame 
Bazaine  herself  if  it  wasn't  a  shame.  "  The  idea 
of  letting  Senorita  Medina's  romance  be  cut  off 
like  this  !  "  she  exclaimed. 

"  No  doubt  Madame  regrets  it,"  said  the  mar 
shal,  quickly.  "  You  will  kindly  take  my  word 
for  it  that  reasons  of  state  absolutely  forbid  my 
interfering." 

Over  in  the  Imperial  box  Commodore  Maury 
fared  no  better. 

"  We  will  not  discuss  it  now,"  said  the  Em 
peror.  "  As  a  favor  to  you,  I  will  ask  Colonel 
Tindal  to  explain  the  case  to  me  personally." 

Maury  withdrew,  knowing  how  well  the  case 
would  be  explained  over  the  wine  and  walnuts. 

In  the  corridor,  Maury  found  Sarnette  telling 
Marquando  his  real  opinion  of  Marshal  Bazaine. 
The  three  were  at  their  wits'  end.  Nothing, 
apparently,  could  keep  Taliaferro  out  of  prison, 
and  once  in  —  "  God  help  him  !  " 

The  gendarmes  were  waiting  for  the  surgeon 
to  finish  his  work  on  Taliaferro's  arm.  Mar 
quando  went  among  his  friends  and  told  them 
"  Cirujano "  was  arrested.  But  the  trumpet 
blew,  the  next  bull  entered,  and  nobody  would 
think  of  anything  else. 

The  banderillas  were  placed.  Gavino  advanced 
to  the  tribune.  He  addressed  the  president,  but 


THE    CORRIDA  101 

really  made  a  speech  to  the  public,  thanking 
them  for  their  cordial  reception.  He  said  he 
wanted  to  set  right  the  unfortunate  second  ap 
pearance  of  his  fellow-matador.  "  By  quickness 
he  saved  the  life  of  the  chulo,  Teran,  by  surgical 
skill  the  life  of  Perez.  I  wish  to  explain  that  he 
entered  the  corrida  to-day  as  an  amateur  only. 
You  have  seen  his  first  and  last  appearance  in  the 
ring.  Recalling  the  slaying  of  Alacran,  I  leave  it 
to  the  amiable  public  if  his  exhibition  was  dis 
creditable." 

"  No  !  "  thundered  a  man,  who  had  hissed  when 
Taliaferro  wounded  Alicente.  Around  the  arena 
rang  an  echo  of  the  applause  that  had  thundered 
over  the  body  of  Alacran. 

"  Who  is  he  ? "  called  some  one,  voicing  the 
general  curiosity.  "  Yes,  Gavino,"  shouted  many  ; 
"  who  is  he  ?  Tell  us  who  he  is." 

Marquando  recognized  the  psychological  mo 
ment.  "  Why  have  they  arrested  him  ? "  he 
shouted.  "  Why  have  they  arrested  Cirujano  ?  " 

The  grada  buzzed  with  question  and  answer :  — 

"  Is  he  arrested  ?  " 

"  Yes,  they've  condemned  him  to  prison." 

«  For  what,  then  ?  " 

And  the  question  deepened  in  volume :  — 
"  Why  is  Cirujano  arrested  f  " 

Gavino  did  not  know  he  was  arrested.  He 
feared  the  unreasoning  people  would  blame 
him. 


102  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

Don  Miguel  Medina  shook  his  head.  "  In  view 
of  this,  Felise,"  said  he,  "  I  must  regret  that 
rose." 

«  Do  you  condemn  him  without  knowing  his 
offence  ?  "  cried  she. 

"Do  you  know  it,  my  daughter?" 

"  No,"  said  she,  flushing. 

"  Why  is  Cirujano  arrested  ? "  insisted  the 
crowd,  undeterred  by  the  gendarmes  trying  to 
keep  them  still. 

Colonel  Tindal  looked  uneasy.  Thundered  out 
by  a  mob,  the  question  was  embarrassing.  He 
did  not  propose  to  attempt  an  answer. 

But  Marquando,  delighted  by  the  turn  of 
things,  stood  up  and  shouted  :  "  Colonel  Tindal ! 
Why  is  Cirujano  arrested  ?  " 

"  This  is  no  place  to  explain  official  acts  !  "  he 
shouted  back. 

This  was  true,  but  the  mob  didn't  care  whether 
it  was  or  not. 

"Colonel  Tindal!  Colonel  Tindal!"  echoed 
many.  "  Why  did  you  arrest  Cirujano  ?  " 

Don  Jose  de  Castro  sprang  up.  "The  man 
was  expelled  from  the  city,  and  warned  not  to 
return.  He  returned.  He  is  arrested." 

More  and  more  charmed,  Marquando  called  out 
loudly,  «  Why  was  he  expelled  ?  " 

"  Yes,  why  was  he  expelled  ? "  yelled  a  half- 
drunken  man. 

"  Release  him  !  "  shouted  another.  "  General 
Uguarte  !  Release  him  !  " 


THE  CORRIDA  103 

"  Marshal  Bazaine ! "  called  some  one  else.  "  Let 
Marshal  Bazaine  release  him  !  " 

In  vain  the  ladies  of  the  marshal's  party  joined 
the  popular  side.  "  It  has  become  a  matter  of 
public  policy  to  sustain  Colonel  Tindal  in  the 
face  of  the  crowd,"  said  he ;  and  his  answer  to 
the  people's  demand  was  the  despatch  of  an  aide 
for  troops  to  assemble  at  the  Plaza  de  Toros.  If 
it  became  a  riot,  the  French  would  make  short 
work  of  it. 

The  audience  had  found  something  more  ex 
citing  than  the  bull.  The  Emperor  suggested 
that  the  ladies  withdraw,  but  they  insisted  on 
staying  to  see  what  happened. 

"  Hurry  up,  there  !  "  said  the  lieutenant  of  gen 
darmes,  nervously.  He  saw  the  storm  rising,  and 
wanted  to  get  his  prisoner  away  before  it  broke. 
Dr.  Basch  worked  hurriedly  at  Taliaferro's  arm, 
but  everything  seemed  to  go  wrong.  In  truth, 
the  wrongness  was  intentional.  If  the  people 
wanted  Taliaferro  released  —  "  Why,  pshaw  !  " 
thought  the  doctor,  «  the  man  can  tie  the  femoral 
artery ! " 

The  lieutenant  said  the  man  had  to  go,  wound 
or  no  wound. 

"  Very  well,"  said  Dr.  Basch.  "  The  man  will 
bleed  to  death,  but  go  ahead." 

In  view  of  the  popular  excitement,  the  lieu 
tenant  decided  not  to  let  him  bleed  to  death. 

Seiiora  'Toinette  went  up  the  grada  till  only 
a  railing  separated  her  from  the  Empress  Char- 


104  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

lotte.  The  little  woman  felt  no  fear  of  the  good 
Carlotta,  who  founded  hospitals  and  scattered 
private  wealth  to  help  the  poor. 

"Forgive  my  speaking,  your  Majesty,"  said 
she.  "  I  beg  you  to  intercede  for  Sefior  Talia- 
ferro,  who  saved  the  life  of  my  husband.  He  is 
good.  I  am  sure  he  has  done  no  wrong ! " 

"  His  release  does  not  depend  on  me,  my 
dear,"  said  the  Empress,  touched  by  the  appeal. 

"  Your  Majesty  could  not  plead  in  vain  !  "  ex 
claimed  'Toinette. 

«  Go,"  said  the  Empress.     "  I  will  see." 

"  God  bless  your  Majesty ! "  said  'Toinette, 
and  went. 

"  Did  you  hear,  Ferdinand  ?  "  asked  Charlotte, 
catching  Maximilian's  eye. 

"  How  the  people  love  you ! "  said  he,  with  a 
faint  note  of  envy  in  his  voice. 

"  Would  it  not  be  good  policy  to  gratify  them 
in  this  ?  " 

Despite  the  gendarmes,  the  people  were  in  up 
roar. 

The  Emperor  tore  a  leaf  from  his  note-book, 
and  pencilled  a  line. 

"  My  dear  Tindal :  —  "it  read.  "  For  what,  in 
a  word,  was  this  man  arrested  ?  Maximilian." 

It  reached  Tindal,  and  he  read  the  universal 
question.  He  came  in  person.  With  him  came 
Jose  de  Castro.  They  explained.  The  tumult 
increased.  The  crowd  began  to  appeal  to  the 
Emperor. 


THE   CORRIDA  105 

To  be  popular  was  his  dearest  desire,  and  here 
was  a  chance  to  appear  godlike  from  the  machine. 
But  to  pardon  Taliaferro  would  incense  De  Cas 
tro,  whom  he  regarded  as  an  entering  wedge  for 
splitting  the  Liberal  insurrection.  In  accordance 
with  his  character,  he  cast  about  for  a  middle 
course,  deciding  to  leave  the  arrest  uncancelled 
and  order  an  investigation.  For  immediate  ac 
tion  he  contented  himself  with  sending  an  order 
to  the  gendarmes  not  to  fire  on  the  crowd. 

People  were  pouring  out,  some  to  get  away  from 
trouble,  others  thinking  the  point  of  interest  would 
be  outside  when  the  matador  was  brought  out. 
Dropping  by  twos  and  threes  from  the  tendido,  a 
dense  mass  of  men  had  filled  the  space  between 
inner  and  outer  barriers.  By  the  time  the  sur 
geon  finished,  the  entrance  to  the  dressing-room 
was  solidly  blocked.  The  gendarmes  pushed  and 
clubbed,  but  the  men  in  front  were  shoved  in 
willy-nilly  by  those  behind. 

The  lieutenant  closed  the  doors  and  made  Talia 
ferro  change  to  civilian's  clothes.  He  hoped  to 
get  him  through  before  the  people  recognized  him. 
Once  on  the  open  street,  the  mounted  guards 
would  scatter  the  crowd,  and  the  prisoner  could 
be  placed  in  a  hack. 

The  doors  of  the  dressing-room  swung  back. 

"  Plough  through  to  the  left ! "  called  the  lieu 
tenant,  and  the  gendarmes  made  a  rush  that 
wedged  them  into  the  crowd. 

«  Cirujano  !  "     "  There  he  is  ! " 


106  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

There  was  a  rush  and  roar  of  men.  Talia- 
ferro  received  a  blow  on  the  arm  that  nearly 
made  him  faint.  He  saw  Marquando  at  his  el 
bow. 

There  were  many  voices. 

"  Crowd  between  !  "  "  Take  him  through  the 
ring !  "  "  Swing  the  cross  gates  !  "  "  Lift  him 
to  the  seats  !  "  "  Take  him  the  other  way  !  " 

Something  stunned  the  lieutenant  of  gendarmes. 

"  Back  there,  back  !  Scatter,  give  room  !  "  A 
wave  of  men  swept  Taliaferro  away  from  the 
guarding  squad  and  down  between  the  barriers 
toward  the  torreros'  entrance.  Two  gendarmes 
there  were  borne  along  by  the  rush.  The  human 
stream  poured  from  the  building  into  the  mass  of 
people  outside. 

Up  the  street  came  galloping  a  cavalry  bat 
talion  four  hundred  strong.  Behind  them  rattled 
and  jarred  artillery  —  Bazaine's  reinforcements. 
The  guns  swung  about  and  bore  on  the  Coliseum  ; 
the  gunners  went  through  nimble  movements. 
The  shouts  of  the  people  ceased,  and,  as  though 
it  had  been  blown  apart,  the  packed  crowd  opened, 
scattering  toward  its  edges,  growing  thinner  as 
it  spread,  pouring  down  side  streets,  and  dribbling 
into  doors  and  courtyards. 

"  Cirujano  "  had  disappeared. 


II 

THE  BOOK  OF   LOVE 


LIEUTENANT    TAILLEFEB 

THROUGH  a  tobacco  shop  into  a  patio,  down  a 
corridor  into  another,  and  out  upon  a  back  street, 
fled  Taliaferro  with  Marquando.  They  put  an 
other  square  between  themselves  and  the  Plaza 
de  Toros,  hailed  a  cab,  drove  four  or  five  blocks, 
got  out,  and  dismissed  the  driver. 

Walking  into  the  Calle  de  Ortega,  they  entered 
a  house.  Marquando  made  a  sign  for  silence, 
and  Taliaferro  followed  him  upstairs,  along  an 
inner  gallery  to  an  unlocked  door.  They  en 
tered  without  knocking.  The  room  had  a  sky 
light,  and  was  full  of  battered  paint-boxes,  dauby 
palettes,  Aztec  garments,  Spanish  armor.  Talia 
ferro  noticed  an  old  wig. 

"  Parra  isn't  here,"  said  Marquando.  "  So 
much  the  better  —  even  he  won't  know.  Come ! " 

He  stepped  through  a  diminutive  kitchen  with 
a  stone  charcoal  stove,  and  opened  a  door  into  a 
room  half  open  to  the  sky.  Stone  steps  led  to 
the  flat,  balustraded  roof.  Marquando  mounted 
and  peered  about. 

"  Come  on,"  he  said,  and  led  the  way  over  half 
a  dozen  level  housetops,  and  down  another  flight 

109 


110  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

of  steps.  At  the  foot  of  these  the  turn  of  a  key 
admitted  the  pair  to  a  luxurious  suite  of  half  a 
dozen  rooms. 

« This  is  No.  14,  Calle  de  Zuleta,"  said  Mar- 
quando.  "  It  is  .yours." 

"  Your  own  house  !  "  exclaimed  Taliaferro.  "  I 
don't  want  you  involved  in  this  scrape." 

"  Bachelor  apartments,"  said  Marquando.  /'  Sit 
down.  Nobody  but  a  discreet  servant  or  two 
will  know  you're  here.  Pardon  me." 

He  returned  with  a  bottle  of  French  brandy. 
"  I  shan't  mind  a  bracer  myself,"  he  said,  hand 
ing  Taliaferro  his  glass. 

Taliaferro  drank,  sighed,  rolled  a  cigarette. 
"  It's  pleasant  not  to  be  in  jail,"  he  remarked. 

"  I  find  it  so,"  said  Marquando. 

"  The  problem  is  how  to  stay  out,"  mused  the 
other. 

"  You're  pretty  safe  here.  If  gendarmes  come, 
there  is  an  exit  on  Zuleta  in  front,  Ortega  behind, 
and  the  way  we  came." 

"  Whose  den  was  that  ?  "  asked  Taliaferro. 

"  Felix  Parra's  —  he's  harmless.  He  drops  in 
here  when  creditors  call.  There  are  some  of  his 
sketches  —  Indians,  always  Indians." 

"  This  is  certainly  better  than  Belen,"  observed 
Taliaferro,  as  his  host  replenished  the  glasses. 
"  But  a  matador  like  me  can't  set  foot  in  the 
street  without  being  recognized,  and  recognition 
means  less  luxurious  quarters.  I  see  nothing 
that's  going  to  improve  the  situation,  either.  No 


LIEUTENANT  TAILLEFER  111 

more  Tlanepantla  for  me,  thank  you.  Are  you 
sure  my  staying  here  involves  you  in  no  risk  ?  " 

"None  at  all,"  said  Marquando.  "I'm  going 
to  Chapultepec  this  evening,  but  you  are  to  stay 
here  as  long  as  it's  convenient  for  you.  I'll  see 
if  there  isn't  some  way  we  can  influence  the 
Emperor." 

"  De  Castro  will  be  moving  heaven  and  earth," 
mused  Taliaferro. 

The  street-door  slammed.  Marquando  sprang 
up  and  listened.  "  Only  Juan,"  he  said.  "  We'll 
have  him  bring  supper  in  to  us." 

"  You  must  agree  to  make  no  change  in  your 
habits  on  my  account,"  said  Taliaferro.  "  By  the 
way,  that  little  woman  at  the  Meson,  the  pica 
dor's  wife,  has  some  cash  and  valuables  of  mine." 

"  I'll  stop  there  to-night,"  said  Marquando. 
"  We  ought  to  get  word  to  Sarnette,  too.  He 
may  come  around." 

"  I  wonder  where  he  is  ?  " 

"  Looking  for  you,  I  suppose.  He  ought  to  go 
back  to  barracks,  but  he  won't."  Marquando 
opened  a  note,  glanced  at  it,  and  tossed  it  back 
on  the  table. 

The  street  door  closed  again.  Taliaferro 
started.  "Confound  it!"  he  exclaimed.  "I'm 
beginning  to  feel  as  though  I  were  guilty  of 
something  ! " 

"That's  Fernand,"  said  Marquando,  listening 
to  the  step. 

«  Where's  Taliaferro  ?  "    demanded    Fernand, 


112  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

when  Marquando  admitted  him.  "Thank 
heaven ! "  he  exclaimed,  as  he  perceived  the 
object  of  his  inquiry.  The  sergeant  saw  the 
bottle,  got  a  glass,  and  filled  it.  «  To  the  most 
sought  man  in  Mexico,"  said  he. 

"  May  his  popularity  diminish ! "  said  Talia- 
ferro,  acknowledging  the  compliment. 

"  Hilario,"  said  Sarnette,  "  your  guest  is  at  this 
moment  the  sole  topic  of  this  city's  conversation. 
What's  the  scheme  now  ?  " 

"There  isn't  any,"  said  Taliaferro,  ruefully. 
"  The  best  we've  thought  of  so  far  is  masterly 
inactivity." 

"  I  didn't  suppose  you'd  think  of  anything  so 
sensible,"  said  Fernand. 

"  Thank  you,"  bowed  the  others. 

"  Note  from  headquarters  ?  "  asked  Sarnette, 
seeing  the  unfolded  missive  on  the  table. 

"  The  marshal's  ball  at  San  Cosine,"  said  Mar 
quando. 

"  May  I  look  ?  " 

"  Certainly.  It's  for  Thursday.  Probably 
been  here  three  or  four  days." 

Sarnette  sat  down  and  thoughtfully  regarded 
the  invitation.  "  Signed  by  Saint-Castin,"  mused 
he.  "  Um  —  I'm  going  to  have  a  little  tailoring 
done,  Hilario,"  said  he,  "  a  little  confidential 
tailoring.  I'd  like  to  do  it  here.  Rod  can  avoid 
the  tailor  by  staying  in  a  back  room." 

"  Arrange  it  with  M.  Taliaferro,"  said  Hilario. 

Saying  the  tailor  would  be   there  next  day, 


LIEUTENANT    TAILLEFER  113 

Sarnette  returned  to  barracks.  Juan  brought 
supper,  and  Marquando  drove  out  to  call  upon 
the  Marquesa  de  Guadelupe  and  the  Lady  of  the 
Handkerchief.  He  found  the  whole  court  buzz 
ing  with  surmises  about  the  mysterious  matador. 
Senorita  Elena  was  vexed  with  him  because  he 
would  not  confide  in  her. 

The  next  day,  when  he  had  his  first  conference 
with  the  tailor,  Sarnette  was  obtrusively  mysteri 
ous.  Marquando  said  yes,  he  was  going  to  the  ball. 

"  Are  you,  Fernand  ?  "  asked  Taliaferro. 

"  A  poor  devil  of  a  sergeant  isn't  invited,"  said 
Sarnette,  "  only  officers  and  swells  like  Mar 
quando.  It's  too  bad  we  can't  go,  Rod  —  the 
Medina  girls  will  be  there." 

"  How  do  you  know  ?  "  demanded  Rod. 

Sarnette  dropped  dark  hints  about  conversa 
tions  with  young  ladies  —  two  young  ladies  on 
a  certain  balcony.  He  looked  provokingly  at 
Taliaferro,  who  swore  vengeance. 

That  afternoon,  Felix  Parra  "dropped  in"  — 
from  the  roof.  He  had  a  sketch  in  his  hand, 
and  was  considerably  embarrassed  when  he  dis 
covered,  not  Marquando  but  a  stranger.  Talia 
ferro  looked  at  the  sketch,  a  Spanish  warrior 
in  shiny  armor  killing  an  unarmed  Indian. 
Remembering  Marquando's  collection,  Taliaferro 
divined  the  purpose  of  the  hasty  visit,  and  asked 
if  the  sketch  was  for  sale.  It  was,  and  Parra 
carried  back  some  bull-fight  money  to  his  cred 
itor. 


114  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

Taliaferro  got  in  the  way  of  going  across  the 
roofs  to  the  studio  of  the  young  genius.  From 
one  of  these  expeditions  he  returned  wearing  an 
excellent  Van  Dyke  stuck  on  patiently  hair  by 
hair.  Marquando  was  not  in,  and  Sarnette  had 
just  departed.  Sarnette's  tailor  was  in  the  act 
of  swallowing  some  of  Marquando's  excellent 
brandy.  Seeing  Taliaferro,  the  tailor  gulped, 
and  spilled  some  of  the  liquor  on  his  cravat. 
Remembering  his  disguise,  Taliaferro  retained 
his  own  self-possession,  and  observed  that  that 
brandy  was  too  good  to  waste  on  cravats. 

The  tailor  hastily  wrapped  up  a  half-finished 
lieutenant's  dress  uniform,  and  with  bows  and 
apologies,  started  to  withdraw. 

"One  moment,"  said  Taliaferro. 

Expecting  some  further  observations  as  to 
brandy,  the  tailor  murmured,  "Very  well,  sir,  it 
shan't  occur  again,"  and  opened  the  door. 

"Come  back  here,  I  say,"  commanded  Talia 
ferro,  and  the  man  came,  albeit  nervously.  The 
bearded  man  strode  up  and  down  with  gaze 
thoughtfully  upon  the  floor.  The  tailor  thought 
the  vials  of  wrath  were  filling. 

"  Hum  I "  went  Taliaferro,  as  though  an  inspi 
ration  had  cleared  up  some  problem.  He 
stopped  decisively.  "You  can  make  me  one 
of  those,"  said  he,  indicating  the  uniform. 

Agreeably  surprised,  and  assuring  him  of 
perfect  correctness,  the  tailor  proceeded  to  take 
his  new  customer's  measure. 


LIEUTENANT   TAILLEFER  115 

"It  must  be  ready  and  here  Thursday  after 
noon,"  said  Taliaferro.  "  With  it  must  be  sword 
and  belt,  kepi  and  gloves  —  all  of  the  best." 

"  Yes  sir,  yes  sir,  and  —  the  name  ?  " 

"  Lieutenant  Taillefer." 


II 

THE  MARSHAL'S  BALL 

THE  inner  court  or  patio  of  the  Palace  of 
Buena  Vista  was  roofed  and  floored,  making  a 
gigantic  ball  room.  The  columns  of  the  arcade 
were  draped  alternately  with  the  French  tri 
color  and  the  red,  white,  and  green  of  Mexico. 
On  the  walls  above  the  arcade  glowed  the  arms 
of  the  allied  empires.  The  central  fountain 
plashed  amid  a  little  jungle  of  tropic  fronds. 
The  pointed  fires  of  a  thousand  wax  candles 
rained  rich  light  on  a  maze  of  gorgeous  uniforms 
and  costly  toilets.  Soldiers,  diplomats,  courtiers, 
Mexican  aristocrats,  European  nobles,  gleamed 
with  medals  and  orders,  jewelled  belts  and  ances 
tral  swords. 

Their  Imperial  Majesties  were  announced ; 
the  glittering  crowd  fell  back  to  the  four-sided 
frame  of  flowers ;  the  buzz  of  conversation 
ceased.  Entering  with  their  cortege,  the  Em 
peror  and  Empress  were  met  by  Marshal  and 
Madame  Bazaine  at  the  head  of  their  suite,  and 
danced  the  stately  quadrille  d'honneur.  At  its 
conclusion,  the  royal  pair  were  ushered  to  a 
double  throne  whose  crimson  canopy  was  reared 
upon  French  cannon. 

116 


THE   MARSHAL'S   BALL  117 

After  the  stately  march  and  minuet,  the  music 
glided  into  the  languorous  danza,  and  then  the 
young  girls  were  in  their  glory.  After  a  season 
of  distant  sighs,  they  came  like  Pipa  to  her  one 
day's  holiday.  Chaperoning  eyes  were  upon 
them,  but  in  the  dcmza,  with  one's  cavalier  so 
close,  who  heeds  a  distant  frown  ?  As  for  the 
"bears"  —  it  almost  paid  to  have  one's  heart's 
idol  set  inaccessibly  upon  a  balcony  —  now  that 
she  had  descended  to  the  level  of  the  ball  room 
floor,  and  laid  her  white  hand  softly  on  one's  sleeve. 

Having  paid  their  respects  to  the  Imperial 
pair,  Don  Miguel  Medina  and  his  sister,  Dona 
Casilda,  took  seats  by  the  arcade  to  watch  the 
waltz.  Chona  danced  with  a  precise-looking 
French  captain  named  Dubois.  Felise,  regal  in 
diamonds  and  a  black  lace  gown  over  satin,  com 
menced  the  dance  with  Don  Jose.  There  was  a 
strip  of  court-plaster  on  his  cheek,  and  he  wore 
a  non-committal  brigadier's  uniform  that  might 
have  been  either  Republican  or  Imperial. 

Senorita  Elena  glided  with  Don  Hilario  into 
the  oblivion  of  the  waltz,  leaving  her  mother, 
the  Marquesa  of  Guadelupe,  to  talk  with  a 
French  lieutenant  whom  Don  Hilario  had 
brought  with  him  to  the  ball. 

Chona  learned  from  Captain  Dubois  that  the 
Vicomte  de  Sarnette  was  a  sergeant  in  his  squad 
ron.  The  captain  became  very  attentive  that 
evening,  but  was  not  so  good-looking  as  his  sub 
ordinate,  nor  such  good  company. 


118  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

The  Vicomte  de  Saint-Castin  and  his  American 
wife  joined  the  Marquesa  de  Guadelupe  and  the 
French  lieutenant.  Saying  she  wished  to  speak 
to  the  vicomtesse,  Felise  stopped  dancing. 

"  You  generally  do  wish  to  speak  to  some  one 
when  you  dance  with  me,"  grumbled  Don  Jose. 

Felise  turned  impatiently,  he  following  sulkily. 
As  they  neared  the  marquesa,  the  lieutenant  with 
her  was  being  presented  to  the  vicomtesse.  His 
back  was  toward  Felise,  and  his  bow  threw  back 
the  ornamented  point  of  his  scabbard.  It  caught 
in  her  overskirt.  * 

With  a  hasty  "  Beg  pardon  ! "  the  lieutenant 
turned,  looked,  started.  Then  quickly  unsling- 
ing  his  sword,  he  knelt  to  extricate  its  gilt 
curves  from  the  lace.  He  seemed  to  move  his 
right  arm  with  difficulty. 

"  Senorita  Medina,"  said  the  Marquesa,  smil 
ing  at  the  embarrassing  but  pretty  situation, 
"  permit  me  to  introduce  Lieutenant  Taillefer." 

"  My  attitude  is  significant,  senorita  —  it  begs 
forgiveness,"  said  the  bearded  lieutenant,  lifting 
his  eyes  to  the  girl's.  She  gave  a  little  gasp.  He 
looked  down  and  got  the  scabbard  loose.  "  I  am 
very  glad  to  meet  you,  Senorita  Medina,"  he  said, 
rising,  «  and  sorry  my  unlucky  scabbard  met  you 
first." 

"  Must  I  infer  that  it's  unlucky  to  meet  me  ?  " 
said  she,  smiling,  but  strangely  pale.  "It  was 
my  fault.  You  got  it  out  beautifully.  May  I 
present  my  cousin,  Senor  De  Castro  ?  " 


THE  MARSHAL'S   BALL  119 

The  two  men  bowed.  The  music  stopped ;  a 
hundred  chattering  voices  sounded  absurdly  loud, 
stopped  abruptly,  began  in  a  lower  key. 

"If  you  will  excuse  me,  sefiorita,"  said  Don 
Jose,  "  I  will  leave  you  at  liberty  to  speak  to  — 
the  vicomtesse."  He  bowed,  and  turned  away 
in  a  manner  that  left  the  group  exchanging 
glances. 

"  Did  you  wish  to  speak  to  me,  Felise  ?  "  asked 
the  vicomtesse,  to  break  the  silence. 

"  Yes  —  about  to-night,"  said  the  girl,  «  but 
later  —  not  just  now." 

Baron  Magnus,  the  Prussian  ambassador,  came 
to  pay  his  respects  to  the  Marquesa  de  Guade- 
lupe.  They  and  the  Saint-Castins  drifted  to 
seats. 

"  May  I  have  the  honor  of  the  next  dance  ? " 
said  Lieutenant  Taillefer  to  Felise. 

"  I  tremble  for  your  safety,  senor,"  said  the 
girl,  her  voice  low  and  agitated. 

"  Do  you  recognize  me  ?  "  exclaimed  Taliaferro, 
delighted  that  she  should. 

"  I  am  in  terror  lest  Don  Jose  did  too.  Oh, 
why  did  you  run  such  a  risk  as  to  come  here  ?  " 

"  To  meet  you,"  said  he. 

She  looked  at  him.  Her  bosom  was  heaving. 
In  her  anxiety  for  his  safety  lay  sincerest  flattery. 
But  the  deep  gaze  of  their  eyes  made  her  sud 
denly  anxious  for  herself.  She  looked  down,  con 
scious  that,  in  her  excitement  and  surprise,  her 
heart  was  blindly  revealing  itself  to  this  man 


120  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

who  was,  but  did  not  seem,  a  stranger.  The 
sight  of  her  emotion  intoxicated  him.  She 
blushed,  and  wanted  to  cry  out,  "  Don't,  don't 
look  at  me  —  not  yet !  "  She  tried  to  raise  a 
barrier  of  conventional  talk.  "  I  assure  you  I 
am  delighted  to  meet  you,"  she  began,  "but 
if  anything  should  happen  to  you,  I  could  never 
forgive — "  She  stopped  in  confusion. 

"  Forgive  yourself  ?  "  said  he.  «  I  did  come 
here  to  see  you  —  we  both  know  it  —  why  not 
admit  it  ?  I  came  back  to  this  city  because  you 
were  in  it.  I  want  you  to  know  —  I  tell  you  — 
almost  the  first  words  I  have  ever  spoken  to  you 
—  because  —  " 

The  music  of  the  waltz  began.  It  was  dreamy. 
It  evoked  in  him  an  intense,  strange  mood,  and 
he  had  a  subtle  feeling  that  she  shared  it.  All 
things  seemed  charged  with  weird  and  beautiful 
meaning. 

«  The  moment  is  golden,"  he  said.  "  Till  now, 
you  have  been  to  me  a  being  afar  —  of  another 
world  —  a  brilliant,  foreign  world  which  I,  per 
haps,  would  never  enter.  Till  now,  I  was  not 
sure  you  had  given  me  a  thought.  You  have, 
senorita !  And  I  —  I  dare  not  tell  you  the 
things  I  have  dreamed  of  you  ! " 

"  Give  me  time,  please  give  me  time  to  realize 
j> 

"  Would  you  rather  not  dance  with  me  ? " 
asked  he,  as  she  paused. 

"  No,  no  !     That's  not  it.     Let  us  dance." 


THE   MARSHAL'S   BALL  121 

The  dance  did  not  go  very  well,  the  music 
being  too  slow  for  him,  and  its  ways  unknown. 
The  wounded  arm  he  placed  about  her  hurt  him. 

"Tell  me  who  you  are,"  she  said. 

He  told  her  of  Paris,  of  New  Orleans,  of  the 
Confederate  battle  against  odds,  of  defeat,  of 
ruin. 

"  It  is  too  bad,"  said  she.  « I  hoped  you 
Southerners  would  win." 

For  a  while  they  moved  without  speaking. 
She  began  to  learn  his  way  of  dancing.  In  their 
silence  he  was  not  thinking  of  the  South's  lost 
cause.  He  had  subordinate  thoughts,  but  the 
central  fact  of  life  was  the  fragrance  of  her  hair. 
Imagination  had  spun  the  warp  of  an  enchant 
ment  ;  and  now  his  senses  wove  the  woof. 

"  In  the  music  with  you,"  he  said,  "  and  the 
knowledge  of  how  soon  this  will  be  over,  per 
haps  forever,  I  could  say  to  the  passing  moment, 
'  Ah,  stay,  thou  art  so  fair ! ' : 

"  But  think  how  tired  we'd  be  —  eternally 
dancing ! " 

"  I  didn't  specify  dancing.  The  heart  of  this 
moment  is  that  I  share  it  with  you." 

"  That's  a  mere  compliment,"  said  she. 

"  I  may  have  let  it  sound  like  one,  Mademoi 
selle  Medina,  but  my  heart  is  at  this  moment 
like  a  poem,  full  of  desire  and  music  and  fore 
boding  of  change.  I  see  the  years  of  the  past 
—  without  you.  I  see  the  years  of  the  future  — 
Why,  you  and  I  may  lie  in  our  graves,  Mademoi- 


122  RODERICK  TALIAFERRO 

selle,  and  this  one  moment  be  the  only  one  we 
ever  shared ! " 

« I  hope  not !  "  said  she,  moved  strangely  by 
the  tones  of  his  voice.  Once  more  she  looked  in 
his  eyes,  and  felt  that  he  saw  her  soul. 

"  Felise  !  "  breathed  he,  and  as  they  danced  he 
drew  her  close.  For  a  moment  he  felt  the 
enchantment  bind  her  too.  Then  she  broke  the 
spell,  and  turned  to  walk.  Her  bosom  rose  and 
fell. 

"Do  not  think  that  was  rudeness,"  he  said. 
"  I  had  no  right,  I  did  not  mean  to,  and  yet  — 
I  am  glad.  Once  at  least  in  this  world  I  have 
called  you  by  your  beautiful  name,  and  held  you 
on  my  heart,  and  seen  your  soul  in  your  eyes  ! " 

"  Please,  please  don't !  You  do  not  know  me. 
I  do  not  know  you.  I  am  afraid  of  this  strange 
power  you  have  of  making  me  —  " 

"  Making  you  what  ?  "  asked  he,  eagerly. 

"  There  is  the  Vicomte  de  Sarnette,"  said  she, 
taking  refuge  in  abrupt  change  of  theme.  "  He 
is  sitting  with  Chona,  my  sister,  there  —  you  can 
hardly  see  him  behind  the  ferns." 

"  Is  it  true  you  spoke  to  him  the  other  day  ?  " 
asked  Taliaferro. 

"Did  he  tell  that?" 

"How  else  should  I  know?" 

"Did  he  tell  what  I  —  what  did  he  say?" 

"What  did  you  say?  You'd  better  tell. 
Sarnette  is  such  a  —  has  such  a  faculty  of 
invention ! " 


THE   MARSHAL'S   BALL  123 

"  What  did  he  say  I  said  ?  " 

"  Tell  me  what  you  did  say." 

«  Must  I  ?  " 

He  nodded.     Her  obedience  was  ravishing. 

"  Well,  then,"  said  she,  "  I  asked  him  —  where 
you  were." 

"  Senorita  Felise,"  said  he,  "  you  are  adorable  !  " 

"  Because  I  wanted  to  know  where  you  were  ? 
Then  I  will  always  —  be  adorable.  I  had  no 
idea  it  was  so  easy  !  "  She  took  his  arm  merrily. 
He  winced.  "  Oh  !  your  arm  !  The  bull's  horn 
cut  it !  How  heartless  of  me !  It  must  hurt 
dreadfully  —  and  you  said  nothing.  Let  us  sit 
out  the  dance." 

"  I'd  rather  have  the  arm  cut  off  than  miss 
this  dance,"  said  he. 

"  Another  compliment !  Is  there  a  poem  back 
of  this  one,  too  ?  But  I'm  afraid  of  your  poems." 

"  Come,"  said  he,  "  once  more,  then  we  will 
sit." 

"  Tyrant ! "  murmured  she,  and  yielded. 

"  I  feel  the  end  of  the  music  coming,"  he  said, 
« there  is  a  kind  of  autumn  in  the  notes.  I 
dread  the  end,  as  though  the  richer  music  in  my 
heart  must  cease  with  this." 

"  So  it's  only  the  waltz  that  makes  the  other 
music  ?  " 

"  Don't  you  know  better  than  that  —  Felise  ?  " 

She  trembled.  Over  the  polished  floor,  through 
the  faint  odor  of  rose-leaves,  they  floated,  linked 
in  melody  and  motion. 


124  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

The  music  stopped,  they  became  aware  of  a 
future,  the  things  they  had  been  saying  seemed 
unreal.  As  they  left  the  floor,  Dona  Casilda 
signalled  Felise  to  come  and  sit  by  her,  but  pre 
tending  not  to  see,  the  girl  kept  on  toward  her 
sister  and  the  all  but  concealed  Fernand.  Taille- 
fer  was  presented  to  Chona,  who  introduced 
Lieutenant  de  Sarnette. 

"  How  are  you,  Sergeant  ?  "  said  the  bearded 
officer,  disguising  his  voice,  and  viewing  with 
wicked  delight  the  pseudo-lieutenant's  consterna 
tion  at  being  thus  verbally  reduced  to  his  real 
rank. 

"  I  am  at  your  mercy,  my  Lieutenant,"  said 
Sarnette,  scanning  the  unknown  officer. 

"  I  won't  report  you,  Fernand,"  said  Taliaferro, 
in  his  natural  voice. 

"  Thanks,  Lieutenant !  "  said  Sarnette,  when 
he  recovered  power  of  speech.  "  I'm  glad  I  can 
return  the  favor." 

"  Is  this  a  masked  ball  ?  "  asked  Chona.  "  It 
seems  to  me  we  four  once  met  on  the  Paseo. 
Oh,  dear,  here  comes  that  captain  again  ! " 

"  For  my  sins  !  "  ejaculated  Sarnette,  plunging 
through  a  doorway  out  of  the  arcade.  Dubois 
would  reduce  him  to  the  ranks  if  he  found  him 
tete-a-tete  with  Chona.  That  dainty  coquette 
by  no  means  regretted  her  conquest  of  the  cap 
tain,  but  the  situation  had  drawbacks  for  Sar 
nette.  The  captain  carried  her  off  for  a  glass  of 
champagne  cup. 


THE   MARSHAL'S   BALL  125 

"  Shall  we  go,  too  ?  "  asked  Taliaferro. 

"  The  vicomte's  place  here  is  good  for  masquer- 
aders,"  said  Felise.  "  I  cannot  take  your  danger 
as  lightly  as  you  do.  There  goes  Don  Jose  into 
the  smoking  room.  Oh,  if  you  were  only  safely 
out  of  the  palace  !  " 

"  Without  another  dance  !  " 

"  It  is  too  dangerous.  I  can  think  of  nothing 
but  the  danger." 

"  Where  am  I  to  see  you  again  ?  " 

"  Where  have  you  seen  me  before  ?  " 

"  On  the  Paseo,  in  church,  at  the  corrida," 
recited  he.  "  But  after  to-night  those  distant 
glimpses  won't  suffice.  I  will  clean  up  this  af 
fair  of  mine,  somehow,  and  when  I'm  free  — " 

"  I  will  lack  freedom  still,"  said  she.  "  The 
vicomtesse  has  told  me  how  different  it  is  in 
your  country,  where  girls  do  as  they  like." 

"  I  cannot  urge  you  to  see  me  as  things  are 
now,"  he  said.  "It  is  brave  and  good  of  you 
to  talk  to  me  when  I'm  disguised,  under  a  false 
name,  sentenced  to  prison.  I  appreciate  it. 
Somewhere  in  this  tangled  skein  of  government 
I  shall  find  justice,  and  then  —  " 

"  What  is  your  plan  ?  "  she  asked. 

"  As  yet,  I  have  none." 

«  Would  you  mind  if  I  helped  ?  " 

"  Can  you  ?  "  exclaimed  he.  "  That  you  want 
to  makes  me  happy  !  " 

The  music  began.  Men  rose,  bowed,  sought 
their  partners.  Colonel  Lopez  came  toward  Felise. 


126  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

"  Must  this  be  good-by  ?  "  asked  Roderick. 

"  It  is  safer,"  said  she.     "I  will  help." 

Colonel  Lopez  saluted.  "  Senorita  Medina,  I 
have  the  honor  to  say  that  the  Empress  desires 
to  speak  with  you.  May  I  conduct  you  to  her 
Majesty  ?  " 

"  Yes,  Colonel,"  said  she,  rising. 

The  lieutenant  thanked  her  for  his  dance,  and 
she  turned  away. 

"  My  fan ! "  she  exclaimed,  and  came  back 
before  Lopez  could  move.  "  I  will  save  a 
dance,"  she  murmured.  "  Be  careful !  We  will 
sit  it  out." 

Taliaferro  sought  the  Vicomtesse  de  Saint-Cas- 
tin,  who  informed  him  that  he  had  been  dancing 
with  the  best  girl  in  Mexico. 

"  She  is  as  lovely  as  she  looks,"  said  he. 

"  Did  you  see  the  corrida  Sunday  ?  "  asked  the 
vicomtesse. 

"  I  was  there,"  said  he. 

"Do  you  know  anything  of  the  mysterious 
matador  ?  I  heard  he  was  a  countryman  of 
mine.  I  know  a  New  Orleans  family  of  his 
name,  and  —  I  did  not  quite  catch  your  own 
name,  Lieutenant  ?  " 

He  looked  at  her  eagerly.  "  Vicomtesse,"  said 
he,  dropping  into  low-voiced  English,  "  my  name 
is  Taliaferro,  and  I  am  from  New  Orleans." 

"  You  are  !  You  !  Then  you — merciful  powers, 
you  are  the  matador  ! " 

"  Yes,  Vicomtesse." 


THE  MARSHAL'S   BALL  127 

She  held  out  her  hand.  "Major  Taliaferro," 
she  said,  "  I  am  delighted  to  meet  you.  I  was 
Elizabeth  Wauchope." 

"I  have  heard  my  father  speak  of  Judge 
Wauchope,"  said  he. 

"Is  there  anything  I  can  do  for  you,  Major?" 

"  If  I  could  get  an  impartial  hearing  some 
where  —  believe  me,  I  appreciate  your  generous 
question  ! " 

It  was  a  heart-warming  talk  he  had  with  that 
spirited  girl  of  his  own  people.  "  One  friend  !  " 
thought  he,  as  her  next  partner  led  her  away. 

The  gorgeous  Velasquez  de  Leon,  Grand  Cham 
berlain  of  the  court,  paid  his  respects  to  Don 
Miguel  and  Dona  Casilda,  and  led  them  to  the 
throne.  The  Empress  had  just  invited  Felise  to 
be  one  of  her  maids  of  honor,  and  asked  the  con 
sent  of  Don  Miguel.  The  old  Conservative  saw 
that  this  would  draw  him  into  tacit  support  of 
the  Emperor's  new  Liberal  government,  but  re 
fusal  was  difficult,  and  the  invitation  was  accepted 
on  condition  that  Felise  be  permitted  to  spend 
half  her  time  at  home. 

Lopez  went  to  the  smoking  room,  where  he 
began  a  conversation  with  the  Vicomte  de  Saint- 
Castin.  Presently  these  two  were  joined  by  De 
Castro  and  Medina.  Saint-Castin  returned  to 
the  ball  room,  and  the  other  three  remained. 

"  An  introduction  by  the  Marquesa  de  Guade- 
lupe  shall  not  be  questioned  by  me,"  said  Don 
Miguel  Medina. 


128  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

"  What  did  Saint-Castin  say  ? "  asked  De 
Castro,  impatiently. 

"  He  did  not  personally  know  this  Lieutenant 
Taillefer,"  said  Lopez.  "  He  came  without 
written  invitation  as  a  friend  of  Don  Hilario 
Marquando." 

"  That  settles  it ! "  exclaimed  De  Castro. 
"  Marquando  is  intimate  with  the  American. 
The  marquesa  has  been  imposed  upon.  Do  you 
propose,  Don  Miguel,  to  allow  your  daughter  to 
dance  with  this  notorious  adventurer,  this  dis 
guised  convict  who  has  escaped  the  clutches  of 
the  law  ?  " 

"  You  have  no  proof,"  said  Medina. 

"  My  own  eyes  are  good  enough  proof !  " 

"  You  believe  them  only  after  hearing  that  this 
lieutenant  came  as  Don  Hilario's  friend." 

"  Very  well,  Don  Miguel.  If  you  will  not  do 
anything,  I  will.  The  very  name  Taillefer  is 
merely  the  French  form  of  Taliaferro.  And 
why  does  this  lieutenant  wear  no  regimental 
device  ?  " 

"  Suppose  you  are  right,  Don  Jose ! "  said 
Medina.  "Do  you  propose  to  tell  Madame 
Bazaine  that  one  of  her  guests  is  a  convict  ?  " 

"No,  but  I  propose  to  arrest  him  when  he 
leaves  her  roof,  and  he  shall  leave  it  soon!" 

"  If  that  is  your  idea  of  courtesy  to  a  hostess  !  " 
said  Don  Miguel,  turning  away  with  a  shrug. 

"  You  will  regret  your  blindness,  Don  Miguel ! " 
called  Don  Jose. 


THE   MARSHAL'S   BALL  129 

Medina  went  to  Felise,  and  asked  her  who 
Lieutenant  Taillefer  was. 

"  A  friend  of  Don  Hilario,"  said  she. 

"  Don  Jose  suspects  him  of  being  the  matador 
Taliaferro.  The  names  are  similar.  Do  you 
know  ?  " 

"The  matador  is  becoming  a  fixed  idea  with 
Don  Jose,"  evaded  Felise.  "  He's  getting  more 
suspicious  every  day." 

"There's  some  truth  in  that,"  said  Medina. 

"  He  caused  a  lot  of  gossip  by  arresting  the 
matador  after  he  dedicated  the  bull  to  you.  He 
thinks  it  a  felony  for  a  man  to  speak  to  me ! 
How  can  you  want  me  to  marry  him,  papa  ?  " 

"Oh,  he'll  get  over  that,"  said  Don  Miguel. 
"  Be  kinder  to  him,  and  he'll  not  be  so  insanely 
jealous." 

"  Is  he  going  to  annoy  Lieutenant  Taillefer  ?  " 
asked  she. 

"  He  will  probably  arrest  him  going  out. 
When  the  lieutenant  establishes  his  identity,  it 
will  teach  Don  Jose  a  lesson." 

Felise  turned  pale,  and  only  the  appearance  of 
Lieutenant  Ortiz  saved  her  from  betrayal. 

"Yes,  Lieutenant,"  she  said,  when  he  asked 
her  for  the  dance,  but  the  moment  they  left  her 
father,  she  said,  "  I  must  see  Lieutenant  Taillefer 
at  once !  Find  him,  please  find  him  for  me  ! " 

"For  your  sake  I'll  forgive  him  for  robbing 
me  .of  my  dance,"  said  Ortiz.  "  But  I  don't 
know  him.  What's  his  regiment  ?  " 


130  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

« I  don't  know.  He's  tall  and  dark ;  he  wears 
a  Van  Dyke.  Look  in  the  smoking  room.  I'll 
wait  here,  and  please  be  quick ! " 

Ortiz  left  her  in  the  conservatory  entrance. 
She  saw  De  Castro  talking  with  Colonel  Tindal, 
and  drew  back  behind  the  palms.  From  the 
other  end  of  the  room,  Taliaferro  saw  her  stand 
ing  alone,  and  quickly  came  to  her. 

"  Can  you  make  this  our  dance  ?  "  he  asked. 

"Thank  God,  you  came!"  she  exclaimed. 
"  You  must  leave  the  palace  at  once.  Don  Jose 
has  recognized  you  —  he  told  my  father.  He 
will  have  you  seized  as  you  go  out  —  unless  you 
go  now  —  oh,  please  be  quick  !  He  is  talking 
with  the  colonel  of  gendarmes ;  the  order  will 
reach  the  guard  in  just  a  minute ! " 

"  I  will  not  endure  it !  "  cried  Taliaferro.  "  I 
will  not  be  driven  from  you ! " 

"  Senor,  I  beg  you,  go  !  " 

He  clenched  his  hands.  "Then  I  will  come 
to-morrow  to  the  Calle  de  Medinas ! "  he  ex 
claimed. 

"Oh,  no,  senor,  not  there  —  " 

"  Not  there  ?  Where,  then,  Senorita  Felise, 
where  can  I  see  you  ?  " 

"  I  am  going  to-night  with  the  Vicomtesse  de 
Saint-Castin  to  her  villa  in  Tacubaya.  I  shall 
be  there  to-morrow  night.  Good-by,  good-by  !  " 

"  Till  to-morrow  night !  "  exclaimed  he.  A 
minute  later,  and  just  in  time  to  avoid  arrest,  he 
left  the  palace. 


Ill 

THE    SONATA 

THE  evening  after  the  ball,  Don  Hilario's  car 
riage  came  out  of  the  patio  of  No.  14,  Calle  de 
Zuleta,  drove  through  the  darkening  streets  of 
Mexico,  and  out  to  Tacubaya,  the  village  of  villas. 
It  passed  between  high,  yellow  walls,  over  which 
burst  the  purple  flame  of  the  mogambilia  tree, 
and  entered  a  lofty  gateway.  Halfway  up  a 
sumptuous  hill,  a  loop  of  gravelled  driveway 
brought  it  to  the  door  of  the  Vicomte  de  Saint- 
Castin. 

From  the  villa,  spreading  enchantment,  came 
music,  its  melody  rising  over  and  over  through 
three  notes,  its  solemn  harmonies  celebrating  and 
mourning  the  ever  born  and  ever  dying  beauty  of 
the  world.  The  horses  moved  their  hoofs  and 
champed  their  bits. 

"  Is  this  right  ?  "  asked  the  coachman. 

"  Yes,  Tomas.     Be  quiet,"  said  Marquando. 

The  music  closed  on  two  chords  quiet  as 
moonlight.  Marquando  stepped  out  and  started 
up  the  steps. 

"  Wait,"  said  Taliaferro. 

Here  and  there,  amid  the  shadows,  a  leaf  was 
touched  with  luminous,  faint  silver.  A  second 

131 


132  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

movement  of  the  music  brightened  and  believed 
in  happy  love.  It  did  not  quite  forget  that 
death  ends  all,  but  remembered  the  sweet,  inter 
vening  years.  And  then,  forgetting  hope  and 
moonlit  peace,  burst  forth  Beethoven's  massive 
agony,  his  savage,  wordless  cry,  "  There  is  no 
love  !  "  Wave  after  wave  swelled  up  from  some 
intolerable  sea  of  grief  and  burst  on  the  shores  of 
sound.  At  the  end,  the  silence  was  like  the  flaw 
less  peace  of  the  untroubled  dead. 

With  a  deep  breath  Taliaferro  followed  Mar- 
quando  in,  and  they  responded  to  the  welcome 
of  the  vicomtesse.  As  he  expected,  Roderick 
found  that  the  musician  was  Felise.  Fading 
from  his  consciousness,  Marquando  and  the 
vicomtesse  drifted  down  the  salon. 

"  I'm  glad  you  came,"  said  Felise.  "  Here 
to-night,  at  least,  you  are  safe,  and  we  can  really 
get  acquainted." 

"  I  can't  help  feeling  pretty  well  acquainted, 
already,"  said  Taliaferro,  smiling. 

"  A  good  deal  has  happened,"  admitted  she. 
"  Did  you  enjoy  your  drive  from  town  ?  " 

"  Deeply,"  he  answered.  "  The  palms,  the 
tropic  moonlight,  the  black  arches  of  the  aque 
duct  ;  and  then,  as  we  came  up  through  per 
fumed  darkness  to  this  place  where  I  knew  you 
were,  your  music  met  us,  and  made  me  be  a 
poet,  feeling  freshly  the  beauty  and  mystery  of 
life  —  as  though  I  had  drunk  fairy  wine  !  " 

"  Beautiful  words,"  said  she,  dreamily. 


THE  SONATA  133 

«  Only  words  ?  "     . 

"  No,  I  don't  mean  that  —  they  make  me  feel 
—  what  you  do.  You  have  a  little  way  of  doing 
that,"  she  added  lightly. 

"  Have  I  ?  "  he  asked  eagerly.  "  Do  you  know 
what  I  am  feeling  now  ?  " 

"I  —  "  she  began,  but  looked  in  his  eyes,  and 
stopped.  "  Wouldn't  you  like  to  hear  the  Sonata 
again  ?  "  she  asked. 

"  Yes,"  said  he,  mentally  vowing  to  keep  guard 
over  himself  and  be  sensible. 

As  she  sat  down  to  play,  she  noted  his  change 
of  expression.  "  I  do  not  play  this  piece  for 
every  one,"  she  said  softly,  and  began. 

He  watched  her  rapt,  yet  quiet,  eyes ;  the 
music  flooded  his  heart  once  more.  A  May-fly 
lighted  on  his  hand  and  clung  there  panting.  He 
looked  at  it  intently,  but  did  not  brush  it  off. 
The  music  stopped  with  the  two  tender  chords. 
Lifting  his  hand  a  little,  he  showed  her  the  beau 
tiful  insect.  "  It  is  dying,"  he  said.  "  It  was 
born  this  morning." 

"  Poor  thing ! "  she  said,  leaning  toward  it. 
"  What  exquisite,  frail  wings  !  " 

"  In  such  music,"  said  he,  "  I  feel  the  pathos 
of  even  this  tiny,  perishing  life.  Like  life,  the 
Sonata  flows  away ;  each  phrase  of  it,  so  beauti 
ful  that  it  hurts,  dies  in  its  birth.  Each  thought, 
each  moment,  this  hour  of  mine  with  you,  is 
swept  away  into  the  past.  It  is  and  is  not. 
Those  perfect  notes  are  like  the  May-fly  here,  like 


134  RODERICK  TALIAFERRO 

me,  like  you — May-fly  and  note  and  man  and  girl 
—  we  pass  away.  I  would  not  feel  it  so,  I  think, 
if  I  could  forget  —  you  and  I  may  never  see  each 
other  again,  you  know,  Mademoiselle  Felise." 

"Suns  set  to  rise,"  said  she,  "and  our  souls' 
music  does  not  cease  like  this." 

"  Did  you  know  you  were  quoting  Catullus  ?  " 
he  asked  —  "  Catullus  who  has  passed  away  witli 
all  his  world.  '  Suns  set  to  rise,'  Catullus  said, 
<  but  our  life's  sun,  when  set,  goes  down  to  Night 
eternal,  sans  return  ! ' : 

"Do  you  believe  that?"  she  asked  with  trou 
bled  eyes. 

"  Yes,"  said  he,  quietly. 

"  But,  sefior  !  "  she  exclaimed  ;  "  no  Christian 
can  believe  that  —  it  is  not  possible  !  " 

"  I  feel  I  ought  to  tell  you,"  he  said,  "  I  am 
not  what  you  would  call  a  Christian." 

«  You  mean  you  are  a  Protestant,"  said  she. 

«  No  —  not  even  that." 

«  Not  that  ?  Not  anything  ?  "  It  was  strange 
to  Felise  that  life,  which  had  glowed  so  bright, 
should  turn  so  gray.  "  You  seemed  so  good  ! " 
she  said. 

"  I'm  sorry  I'm  not,"  he  said,  "  but  don't  you 
think  one  can  be  '  good,'  no  matter  what  belief 
one  b->lds?" 

"  I  think  —  I'm  afraid  —  why,  it  must  be 
wicked  to  believe  what  you  say  you  do ! " 

"  Why,  Senorita  Felise,"  he  said,  "  you  might 
as  well  call  wicked  my  belief  that  two  and  two 
make  four." 


THE  SONATA  135 

"  But  that  is  true  !  " 

"  No  truer  to  me  than  this.  But  suppose  it 
false  !  If  I  add  a  column  of  figures  incorrectly, 
am  I  wicked,  or  just  mistaken  ?  " 

"  That  is  nothing  like,"  she  said.  "  It  is  a 
dreadful  thing  not  to  believe  in  Christ !  Weren't 
you  ever  baptized  ?  " 

"Oh,  yes,"  said  he,  smiling.     "It  didn't  take." 

She  was  pained  beyond  words. 

"  Forgive  me ! "  he  exclaimed.  "  Forgive  my 
taking  it  lightly  for  one  instant.  To  me  also  it 
is  a  serious  thing,  Senorita  Felise.  Love  of  my 
mother  was  interwoven  in  me  with  love  of  the 
faith  she  taught.  But  when  I  read  the  books 
of  the  crowned  heads  of  science  —  they  have 
proved  enough  to  annihilate  the  old  belief  in 
anything  miraculous,  except  as  Nature  itself  is 
one  great  miracle.  Men  must  build  a  new  reli 
gion  on  the  bedrock  truth  of  Nature." 

"Do  your  books  annihilate  love?"  demanded 
she. 

"  Ah,  no  !  "  sighed  he,  looking  at  her. 

"  They  do  not  touch  Christianity,  then,"  said  she. 

"  Not  its  heart  of  love,"  he  said.  "  But  they 
do  destroy  the  church's  scheme  of  salvation  by 
miraculous  means." 

"  But  the  church  teaches  us  to  love  one's  neigh 
bor  as  one's  self,"  insisted  she. 

"  And  to  believe  in  hell  ?  "  asked  he. 

"  Of  course,  for  evil  souls." 

"  Our  whole  lives  have  built  our  beliefs,"  he 


136  RODERICK    TALIAFERRO 

said,  "yours  one  way,  mine  another.  The  old 
cannot  be  cast  aside  until  the  new  has  grown  up 
slowly  in  one's  soul.  But  can't  I  make  you  feel 
that  my  belief  is  right  for  me  f  " 

"  Oh,  how  could  you  once  believe  the  truth 
and  then  renounce  it  ?  "  she  exclaimed,  grieving 
at  the  chasm  that  had  so  suddenly  opened  be 
tween  herself  and  the  man  to  whom  her  instinct 
strongly  drew  her. 

"  I  gave  up  my  mother's  faith,"  he  said,  "  be 
cause  I  saw  —  with  pain,  seiiorita  —  that  it  \vas 
not  true.  I  thought  all  hope,  all  hold  of  life  was 
going  with  it,  but  that  was  not  the  case.  My 
nature  became  in  all  ways  more  sincere,  being 
ready  to  accept  the  perfect  truth  of  things,  no 
matter  whether  good  or  evil.  The  world  came 
to  my  vision  in  diviner  order  and  beauty.  I 
saw  what  low  things  the  race  of  man  has  risen 
from,  and  saw  that  it  must  rise  to  heights  as  yet 
undreamed.  There,  indeed,  came  a  new  despair. 
Like  myself  the  very  race  will  end,  the  earth  it 
self  will  die !  I  felt  then  as  Beethoven  feels  in 
his  desperate  music.  But  at  last,"  with  surpass 
ing  peace,  I  came  to  feel  that  each  of  us  is  merely 
like  a  note  of  music,  sounding  for  an  instant, 
then  ceasing,  giving  place  to  others,  our  beauty 
all  in  our  relation  to  those  before  and  after  and 
around.  Brief  as  each  note  is,  the  soul  of  the 
\vhole  Sonata  passes  through  it  —  there  is  no  life 
that  is  not  worth  while.  I  am  telling  you  all 
this,  senorita,  to  make  you  feel,  if  I  can,  why 


THE   SONATA  137 

my  hard-won  vision  of  the  world  is  as  precious 
to  me  as  your  faith  is  to  you.  I  have  looked 
back  and  on,  into  an  almost  eternal  past  and 
future,  to  find  the  faith  I  live  by  in  this  hour. 
My  mind  has  seen  suns  blaze  and  fade  —  fireflies 
of  infinite  space  —  I  have  seen  that  the  almost 
eternal  stars  are  but  as  notes  that  sound  and 
cease  in  God's  Sonata!" 

"  Then  you  do  believe  in  God  ! "  cried  she. 

"The  Sonata  itself  is  God,"  he  said. 

"  The  Sonata  itself  ? "  she  repeated,  trying  to 
understand.  "  You  mean  this  world  —  the  earth 
—  these  things  we  see  about  us?" 

"The  world  about  us  fades  like  a  flower,"  he 
answered.  "But  though  all  roses  wither,  the 
Rose  endures.  What  the  Rose-pattern  is  to  an 
actual  withering  rose,  that  God  is  to  the  world. 
The  Christian  God  —  the  old  tribal  God  of  the 
Jews  —  is  a  separate  being  capable  of  anger  and 
revenge.  A  few  centuries  ago  they  say  he  had  a 
son  born  of  an  earthly  maid.  What  I  call  God 
is  an  incessant  Law  no  miracle  can  break." 

"  Our  Father  in  Heaven  an  empty  pattern  — 
an  unloving  Law  !  "  exclaimed  Felise.  "  Senor 
Taliaferro,  there  is  not  blood  enough  in  that  be 
lief  to  satisfy  a  human  heart !  I  cannot  think 
your  thoughts.  I  only  feel  that  without  Christ 
no  soul  can  live.  Don't  you  ever  try  to  be 
lieve  ?  Won't  you,  oh,  won't  you  try  ?  " 

"  I'd  try  anything  on  earth  for  you  but  that," 
said  he. 


138  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

She  turned  away. 

«  Hear  that  mocking-bird  !  "  said  Roderick. 
« He  doesn't  argue.  He  says,  '  I  love  you !  I 
love  you  ! ' ' 

Thinking  not  of  them,  she  played  the  three 
notes  of  the  moonlight  theme. 

"Play  it  all  again,"  said  Roderick.  "There 
at  least  we  are  at  one.  Beethoven  does  not 
argue,  either." 

She  did  not  repeat  the  Sonata.  With  melan 
choly  tenderness  her  fingers  floated  into  a  piece 
that  moved  as  spring  moves  over  the  world.  It 
came  like  violets.  It  was  full  of  the  great  yearn 
ing  that  brings  the  budding  leaves  and  fledgling 
birds.  It  yearned  for  love  —  creation's  instru 
ment  and  end.  It  had  the  unbelievable  beauty  of 
moonlit  apple-blossoms.  It  was  like  some  hushed, 
fragrant,  woman-like  night  of  May,  which  holds 
its  breath  as  though  about  to  kiss.  The  secret  of 
the  world  was  veiled  in  it  behind  a  veil  of  sound. 
It  rippled,  it  surged.  Over  its  deep,  unswerv 
ing  waves  danced  little  waves  —  irresponsible 
madcap  ripples,  wind-flung  featherings,  dimples 
of  sound. 

The  man's  heart  ached  with  its  beauty  — beauty 
which  no  lip  may  ever  kiss.  He  felt  that  fore 
boding  of  the  end  which  he  had  called  the 
autumn  in  the  notes.  More  tender  and  more 
strange  with  every  chord  chromatically  mount 
ing,  the  music  seemed  to  draw  nearer  and  more 
near  to  some  divine  event. 


THE   SONATA  139 

After  the  solving  chord,  a  lovely,  troubled 
rustling,  born  in  the  deep  notes,  rose  and  swelled 
and  died  away  in  the  treble  like  wind  in  forest 
trees. 

Of  all  the  phrases  men's  lips  have  moulded  one 
alone  seemed  to  Roderick  adequate,  and  that  he 
dared  not  speak.  She  looked  at  him.  "  I  know 
what  life  is  !  "  he  said. 

«  What  is  it  ?  "  asked  she. 

"  What  that  music  says.  I  feel  profoundly 
what  we  human  beings  are  —  you  and  I !" 

"  How  deeply  you  are  moved  by  music ! " 
said  she. 

"  Do  you  know  how  deeply  I  am  moved  —  by 
you?" 

For  a  moment  there  were  heart  throbs  and 
held  breath. 

"  Please  don't !  "  entreated  she. 

"  Do  you  know  ?  "  he  insisted. 

"Oh,  I  dare  not!  I  can't  forget  — "  She 
paused.  The  mocking-bird  uttered  his  three 
notes  again. 

"  Can't  you  hear  him  say  it  ?  "  asked  he,  with 
avowal  in  his  eyes. 

"Miss  Mocking-bird  may  listen  to  him,"  said 
Felise ;  "  she  does  not  have  to  think." 

She  rose  and  escaped  to  the  vicomtesse,  and 
Roderick  saw  her  no  more  alone  that  evening. 

When  Saint-Castin  came  from  the  city,  the 
vicomtesse  and  he  made  Taliaferro  and  Mar- 
quando  agree  to  stay  overnight. 


140  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

"You  make  me  feel  that  I  have  found  New 
Orleans  here,"  said  Taliaferro,  gratefully. 

"  I  promised  we'd  help  you,  Major,"  said  the 
vicomtesse.  "We  can  do  little  enough,  I  fear, 
so  do  accept  that  little." 

Marquando  went  to  town  with  Saint-Castin 
next  morning,  but  was  to  return  at  night  for 
Taliaferro. 

A  heavy  rain  next  day  made  prisoners  of 
Roderick  and  Felise.  They  went  miles  deep  in 
music ;  but  even  in  the  rapture  of  life  awakened 
by  the  long,  swift,  eager  phrases,  the  exquisite 
surprises,  the  fantastic,  far-brought,  melancholy 
beauty  of  Chopin,  Felise  did  not  forget  the 
shadow  of  the  strange  religion. 

Roderick  told  her  of  talks  he  had  had  of  old 
with  a  gifted  friend  then  dead.  "  Our  quest  of 
truth  was  exciting  as  a  deer  hunt,"  he  said. 
"Our  hot  brains,  seeming  to  fuse  and  think  as 
one,  became  so  intensely  alive  that  by  compari 
son  we  seemed,  in  ordinary  moments,  to  be  walk 
ing  about  and  doing  things  in  a  kind  of  sleep. 
And  yet,"  he  added,  "  we  knew  that  life  contained 
one  thing  more  perfect  still  —  to  find  in  a  woman's 
form  a  soul  which  could  respond  like  that." 

"And  did  you  find  her?"  asked  Felise,  with 
hope  that  he  had  not. 

"  No,"  said  he  ;  "but  think  of  it!  —  the  man's 
nature  and  the  woman's,  with  all  their  chording 
powers !  .  Think  of  them  drawn  into  such 
unison ! " 


THE   SONATA  141 

"I  have  never  seen  it,"  said  she.  "There 
seems  to  be  some  gulf  between  men  and  girls, 
some  lack  of  sympathy  or  understanding  which, 
even  if  they  try,  they  cannot  cross." 

"  Wouldn't  it  be  too  bad,  Seiiorita  Felise,  if  a 
man  met  the  one  girl  in  ten  thousand,  —  the  one 
between  whose  soul  and  his  there  was  no  gulf,  — 
and  then  some  external  bar  should  keep  them 
forever  apart  —  some  difference  of  wealth,  of  sta 
tion,  of  creed  ?  " 

"There  would  be  heartbreak  in  a  thing  like 
that ! "  said  she ;  but  added,  hastening  to  safer 
ground :  "  Most  men  are  so  excessively  aware 
one's  a  girl.  They  are  insincere  about  it.  With 
each  other  they  talk  frankly,  but  when  a  girl 
comes  in,  they  grow  suddenly  false.  You  don't. 
You  make  me  feel  that  we  are  just  —  two  human 
beings." 

"At  home  we  knew  girls  as  comrades  and 
equals,"  explained  he. 

"  I  saw  that  between  you  and  the  vicomtesse," 
said  she.  "It  is  that  which  made  me  consent  to 
the  ride  with  you.  But  we  must  be  back  before 
Don  Hilario  comes.  He  would  not  understand." 

After  supper  with  the  vicomtesse,  the  two 
came  out  and  saw  the  red  gold  of  sunset  lighting 
city  and  sierra,  saw  blue  lakes  below,  blue  sky 
above,  and  the  two  immortal  mountains,  silent 
as  gods,  glowing  in  color  of  rose  above  the  world. 

Roderick  gave  an  exclamation  of  awed  delight, 
and  though  Felise  had  seen  that  glory  all  her 


142  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

life,  she  saw  it  then  as  for  the  first  time.  They 
stood  silent,  while  their  two  souls  drew  into 
themselves  one  same  image  of  the  mighty  scene. 
He  was  not  looking  at  her,  but  felt  himself 
drawn  to  her  as  by  the  power  of  gravity.  She 
felt  it,  too,  and  he  knew  it.  She  made  some 
remark  to  break  the  spell,  and  her  voice  almost 
failed. 

With  tropic  suddenness  the  earth  darkened. 
Only  the  two  peaks  glowed  on  —  part  of  the 
earth,  but  partaking  the  nature  of  the  sky. 
They  faded.  The  fragrant  moon-flowers  opened 
their  white  hearts  to  twilight  lovers ;  the  moon's 
light  made  the  darkening  outer  world  like  part 
of  their  own  souls. 

"  It  is  a  beautiful  night  to  ride,"  he  said,  com 
pelling  his  voice  to  be  steady. 

"I  hardly  dare,"  said  she.  "It  is  too  beau 
tiful." 

The  vicomtesse  called  from  inside  the  house, 
to  know  if  Felise  wanted  the  habit. 

"Yes,"  prompted  Roderick. 

For  a  moment  Felise  did  not  answer. 

"Yes,"  said  he,  again. 

"Yes,  vicomtesse,"  she  said.  "I  am  coming 
for  it  now."  She  turned  to  him.  "  What  have 
you  done  to  me  that  I  should  mind  like  that  ? " 


IV 

EDEN 

WITH  rhythm  of  cantering  hoofs,  and  whisper 
of  cleft  air — rail  sights  obscured  in  the  dusk,  all 
sounds  distinct  in  the  silence,  the  whole  world 
giving  magically  back  the  passion  in  his  heart, 
rode  Roderick  with  Felise. 

They  cantered  over  bridge  and  under  arch, 
past  the  castled  hill  of  Chapultepec,  and  drew 
rein  where  the  new  Paseo  met  the  lane  leading 
to  La  Teja.  At  a  walk  they  turned  into  that 
lane,  roofed  with  interlacing  limbs  and  leaves. 
On  each  side  grew  rose  trees.  It  was  a  fragrant 
tunnel  into  which  they  passed  and  were  folded 
in  dusk  and  bloom  and  silence.  Here  and  there 
a  moonbeam  flushed,  touching  a  rose. 

The  intoxication  of  the  night  and  of  her  made 
Roderick  forget  his  daylight  resolution  not  to 
make  love.  He  thought  of  splendid  ways  to  un 
lock  his  heart.  All  that  he  knew  of  life  and 
nature  glowed  ready  for  the  moulding  of  his 
lips.  He  forgot  all  but  the  hour,  the  place,  the 
woman's  listening  soul.  And  yet  —  those  golden 
words  remained  unspoken,  those  precious  dreams 
were  unrevealed,  those  feelings  burgeoning  within 

143 


144  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

his  heart  like  violets  he  did  not  pluck.  Some 
how  he  dared  not  even  touch  her  hand.  He  was 
afraid  of  her,  yet  the  very  fear  was  sweet. 

They  rode  through  the  rose  tree  alley ;  skirted 
the  moated  garden  of  La  Teja ;  passed  under 
the  arches  of  the  aqueduct,  and  back  behind 
Chapultepec,  through  the  deep  shadows  of  an 
cient  trees.  They  came  again  to  Tacubaya, 
entered  the  gateway,  rode  up  the  wooded  hill, 
but  Roderick  had  breathed  no  word  of  love.  At 
a  turn,  the  little  river  of  Tacubaya  gave  them 
the  fairy  noise  of  its  ripplings.  Its  lights  and 
shadows  played  like  those  of  beautiful  eyes. 
They  stopped  to  look  and  listen. 

"  Oh,  witchery  of  the  world  ! "  said  he.  "  Such 
beauty  becomes  pain  —  one  loves  it  with  one's 
whole  heart,  yet  knows  it  does  not  love  back!" 

"  God  loves  back,"  said  she. 

"You  think  of  God  as  of  something  separate," 
said  he.  "But  is  not  this  world  itself  like  a 
great  living  being  —  all  of  it  together,  earth  and 
sky,  stars  and  moon,  waving  leaves  and  glimmer 
ing  waves?  Does  it  not  seem  to  breathe  one 
vast  and  quiet  breath  ?  Look  off  through  there ! 
The  moonlight  looks  like  a  great  soul  made  vis 
ible.  Is  it  possible  that  all  this  has  no  heart 
and  cannot  love  ?  " 

"  It  cannot.     He  does." 

"Ah,  that  is  it,"  he  said.  "!T  cannot  love, 
Felise,  and  to  me  IT  is  all  there  is.  In  such  a 
night,  when  it  seems  as  though  the  mind  of  the 


EDEN  145 

world  is  thinking  some  lovely  thought,  I  love  it  — 
with  what  ardor !  but  my  love  is  baffled,  beaten 
back,  lost  in  the  heartless  sky  !  I  hardly  ever 
talk  so,  but  I  thought  you'd  understand." 

"  I'm  afraid  I  can't,"  she  said  ;  «  for  when  my 
love  goes  out  like  that,  as  with  wings,  it  seems 
to  find  the  Blessed  Maid,  who  takes  it  to  the 
heart  of  Our  Father." 

"  The  old  religion  is  no  empty  shell  to  you," 
said  he.  "  You  have  made  me  feel  what  it  must 
be  to  a  heart  like  yours.  I  wouldn't  have  you 
lose  your  deep  and  simple  faith.  But  won't  you 
see  how  it  is  with  me  ?  Don't  you  see,  when 
my  love  is  thrown  back  from  lovable  but  unlov 
ing  Nature  —  back  into  myself,  and  then  I  find 
a  being  like  myself,  like,  and  yet  of  finer  clay, 
with  a  heart  which  can  respond,  love  back,  don't 
you  see,  Felise,  how  I  must  love  her  ?  " 

"  We  must  go  in,"  she  said  with  tremulous 
voice.  She  turned  her  horse  toward  the  villa. 

"  Don't  go  yet,"  entreated  he. 

"  We  must.  Senor  Marquando  will  soon  be 
here." 

He  helped  her  dismount,  and  felt  her  weight 
upon  his  arm.  As  when  first  his  eyes  met  hers, 
it  seemed  as  though  he  breathed  some  enervat 
ing  perfume. 

He  tied  the  horses  ;  she  stood  holding  the  folds 
of  her  habit ;  she  turned  to  go  in. 

"  Don't !  "  he  implored  again. 

"  But  the  vicomtesse  !     I  am  afraid  —  " 


146  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

"  And  I  ?  Am  I  not  afraid  ?  Am  I  not  sick 
with  the  fear  that  this  will  be  cut  off  —  that  you 
and  I  shall  never  meet  again  like  this  ?  But 
you  are  cold,  unmoved  —  you  do  not  care  !  " 

"  You  are  wrong,"  said  she.  In  her  voice  he 
heard  the  accent  of  that  same  delicious  fear  that 
had  locked  his  lips  and  bound  his  hand. 

"  You  do  care  ?  " 

"  Yes,"  said  she,  and  found  no  voice  for  more. 
Something  made  her  forget  the  vicomtesse,  the 
coming  of  Marquando,  the  strange  religion  — 
everything  but  the  man  beside  her,  in  the  fragrant 
night,  beneath  the  stars,  in  the  magic  silence  of 
the  world. 

Drawn  by  a  power  more  deep  than  conscious 
will,  his  hands  clasped  hers,  and  he  knew  that 
she  was  bound  with  him  in  the  same  spell,  un 
able  to  speak  or  stir.  In  his  nerves  was  sweet 
ness  keen  as  pain ;  in  his  brain  all  life  and 
nature  glowed,  but  for  expression  he  found  noth 
ing  but  three  trite  old  words  —  I  love  thee  ! 

"  I  love  thee  !  "  Then  silence  and  held  breath. 
Love  was  so  strong,  so  holy,  so  voluptuous  — 
could  the  heart  hold  it  and  not  break  ?  "  Tell 
me,  Felise !  Is  it  possible  thou  dost  love 
me?" 

"Think'st  thou  that  I  am  marble?"  Her 
voice  faint,  her  cheeks  aflame,  upon  her  almost 
smiling  lips  the  delicious  "  thou  "  of  lovers,  she 
felt  herself  drawn  close,  resisting  her  own  feel 
ings  more  than  his  enfolding  arms,  but  both  in 


EDEN  147 

vain.  Without'  her  will  her  lips  met  his  —  the 
girl's  first  kiss.  To  the  man  it  was  escape  from  the 
solitude  of  the  world  into  the  heart  of  a  woman. 

The  invisible  stream  of  time  moved  on  through 
out  all  worlds.  All  second  hands  ticked  on  with 
equal  speed.  But  time,  in  their  souls  thus  rosily 
enmeshed,  stood  still  —  upon  each  other's  lips 
they  taste  eternity.  The  planets  glided  on  with 
even  curve  through  clasping  ether.  To  the 
thrilled  imagination  of  the  lover  the  law  of  their 
orbits  seemed  one  law  with  love  —  another 
phase  of  that  same  power  which  drew  him  to 
Felise.  The  conscious  life  of  the  universe,  di 
vided  and  isolated,  bit  by  bit,  in  separate  souls  — 
was  not  Love  the  religion  which  bound  it  back 
into  one  Life  ? 

"  Speak  to  me  !  "  he  commanded.  "  Say,  '  I 
love  thee.'  " 

"  I  dare  not." 

"  But  dost  thou  not  love  me  ?  " 

"  I'm  afraid  of  the  words." 

«  Be  braver.     Dost  thou  trust  me  ?  " 

"  Yes,  dear  stranger." 

«  Yes  —  I  am  one.  And  yet  I  seem  to  have 
known  thee  always." 

"  Thou  art  a  stranger  who  bringest  me  my 
own  soul." 

«  Dost  thou,  too,  feel  that  ?  " 

"  I  have  been  homesick  even  at  home  —  with 
that  nostalgia  which  is  in  Beethoven.  I  thought 
it  was  to  cease  in  Heaven  alone." 


148  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

"  Felise  !    Has  it  ceased  for  the*e  —  with  me  ?  " 

"If  I  say  'yes,'  —  so  soon,  —  what  wilt  thou 
think  ?  " 

"That  I  have  found  the  woman's  soul  that 
chords  with  mine !  That  to  thee  without  self- 
betrayal  I  could  reveal  my  inmost  heart !  " 

"  Knowest  thou  why  ?  " 

«  Why  I  feel  so  ?  " 

"  Knowest  thou  ?  " 

"Tell  me." 

Breaking  delicious  silence  came  her  syllables, 
« I  love  thee  !  " 

Oh,  poverty  of  the  written  word  !  How  give 
it  fragrant  breath  and  rose-leaf  lips,  how  thrill  it 
with  shy  maidenhood  grown  brave,  how  add  to 
it  the  divinely  deepening  light  of  eyes  that  love ! 

"  I  love  thee  ! "  It  is  the  bourn  of  expres 
sion  ;  beyond  it  language  may  not  go.  Common 
as  air,  these  are  the  master  words.  Spoken 
newly  and  with  truth,  the  old  phrase  glows 
with  the  colors  of  this  morning's  dew,  and  opens 
to  the  latest  lovers  an  Eden  which  no  feet  but 
theirs  have  ever  trod. 

Into  a  rose  tree  alley,  not  of  La  Teja,  passed 
Roderick  and  Felise,  passed  and  were  folded  in 
diviner  dusk,  and  more  voluptuous  bloom,  and 
holier  silence  —  forgetting  for  one  rapturous  hour 
the  serpent  of  cloven  creeds  whose  hiss  they 
heard,  but  thought  not  of,  in  their  new  Paradise. 


THE    CALLE    DE    MEDINAS 

WITH  his  head  among  the  stars,  Taliaferro 
drove  back  from  Tacubaya  with  Marquando. 
Like  the  moon-flower,  she  had  opened  her  heart. 
The  very  drawing  of  his  breath  was  ecstasy. 
She  loved  him  !  When  had  she  not  loved  him  ? 
She  loved  him  before  they  talked  together,  and 
all  her  words  had  tried  in  vain  to  hide  it.  The 
events  that  led  to  their  meeting  had  appealed 
too  powerfully  to  the  romance  of  her  heart,  and, 
meeting  him,  she  heard  in  another  for  the  first 
time  the  voice  of  that  intense  emotion  which  she 
had  poured  into  music  only.  He  carried  it  from 
music  into  life.  To  him  the  world  was  music. 
He  thrilled,  and  made  her  thrill,  to  every  note  in 
"God's  Sonata."  She  felt  it  in  Chopin,  but  he 
felt  it  in  himself  —  it  came  from  him  creatively 
as  from  Chopin.  She  did  not  know  that  her 
touch  created  it  in  him.  Sex  made  that  music 
in  his  heart  and  made  the  echo  in  hers  —  an 
echo  so  profoundly  sweet  that  all  the  rest  of  life 
seemed  dull  and  dumb  and  drowsy.  They  met, 
and  Eden  came.  To  that  enchantment  neither 
could  admit  impediments. 

149 


150  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

Love  made  them  blind.  There  were  impedi 
ments. 

When  Taliaferro  and  Marquando  arrived  at 
14,  Calle  de  Zuleta,  Juan  told  them  that 
gendarmes  had  searched  the  house. 

Roderick  made  a  feeble  attempt  to  reproach 
himself  for  making  love  under  such  circum 
stances.  "  Not  only  that,"  thought  he  ;  "  but  I 
have  won  her  love  ! " 

"  I  have  won  her  love "  proved  in  itself  too 
sweet  a  thought.  It  absorbed  him.  He  forgot 
how  he  had  arrived  at  it.  He  forgot  to  reproach 
himself.  He  forgot  to  tell  Marquando  he  was 
sorry  the  house  had  been  subjected  to  search. 
He  wondered  what  made  Marquando  angry  with 
Jose  de  Castro.  He  went  to  bed  and  dreamed. 
He  rose  next  day  and  went  on  dreaming. 

"  The  carriage  has  come  for  her ;  she  has  left 
the  vicomtesse.  Is  she  thinking  of  me  ?  She 
must  have  looked  at  the  spot  where  we  stood 
last  night.  She  is  with  the  Empress  at  Chapul- 
tepec.  She  will  be  home  to-night.  Her  balcony, 
alas !  is  so  high  I  cannot  touch  her  hand."  One 
day  of  such  insanity. 

Sarnette  came  in  —  without  his  chevrons. 
Marquando  had  gone  out. 

"  Where  on  earth  have  you  two  been  ? " 
demanded  Sarnette. 

"  Oh,"  said  Taliaferro,  "  a  little  excursion." 

"Your  excursion  was  a  lucky  thing  for  you, 
but  it  cost  me  my  chevrons." 


THE   CALLE   DE   MEDINAS  151 

"  Why,  how  was  that  ?  " 

"  You  behold,  sir,  Sarnette,  Fernand,  Private." 

"  How  did  that  happen  ?  " 

"  The  gendarmes  searched  this  house,  —  I  sup 
pose  Don  Jose  thought  you  must  be  here,  —  and 
they  found  your  lieutenant's  uniform.  But  for 
the  faithful  Juan  they'd  have  been  waiting  for 
you  when  you  came  in.  Juan  said :  <  Dear  no  ! 
That  is  Lieutenant  Sarnette's  uniform,  Lieuten 
ant  Sarnette  of  the  Twelfth  Chasseurs.'  The  in 
telligent  gendarmes  called  at  our  quarters  and 
inquired.  Captain  Dubois  said,  '  No,  Sarnette's 
a  sergeant.'  The  gendarmes  produced  the  uni 
form.  I  was  called  up.  When  I  saw  they  were 
on  your  trail,  I  said,  yes,  it  was  mine." 

"  But  it  wasn't,"  said  Taliaferro,  remember 
ing  that  the  touch  of  Felise  had  sanctified  that 
cloth. 

"  Oh,  you  can  have  both  uniforms  !  "  exclaimed 
Sarnette.  "  I  won't  need  'em  now  !  " 

A  transient  gleam  of  reason  penetrated  Talia- 
ferro's  brain.  "  Private  Sarnette,"  said  he,  "  I 
understand.  You  deserve  the  Cross  of  the  Legion 
for  that  magnanimous  lie." 

"  I'm  glad  you  appreciate  it,"  said  Sarnette. 
"  You're  the  only  one  who  will.  It  will  certainly 
not  appeal  to  Senora  Prado." 

"  What  has  she  to  do  with  it  ?  " 

"  Well,  you  see,  she  discovered  me  at  the  ball 
in  a  somewhat  secluded  corner  with  her  niece. 
You  understand  I  was  merely  avoiding  Dubois." 


152  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

"  Of  course.     What  did  the  senora  say  ?  " 

«  Say  !     She  was  speechless  !  " 

"  What  did  you  say  ?  " 

"  Senorita  Chona  was  a  trifle  confused,  but 
I  winked  to  her  to  introduce  me.  Then  I  in 
vited  the  senora  and  Don  Papa  to  sit  down  and 
have  a  chat.  She  was  impressed  by  my  title,  — 
I  casually  mentioned  my  uncle,  the  Due  d'  Au- 
rillac,  —  and  I  worked  my  promotion  to  a  lieuten 
ancy  for  all  it  was  worth.  I'm  afraid  Private 
Sarnette  will  suffer  in  the  reaction.  She  won't 
believe  in  the  duke,  either." 

"  You  don't  mean  they  did  have  a  chat  ?  " 

«  Well,  I  did.  They  listened.  I  tried  to  get 
the  old  Don  to  laugh,  but  he  wouldn't.  These 
hidalgos  overdo  the  gravity  business." 

"  That,  Fernand,  was  the  effect  of  your  jokes," 
said  Taliaferro,  mournfully. 

"  I  admit  my  gayety  was  that  of  an  under 
taker  at  his  own  funeral,"  said  the  vicomte, 
"but  I  made  peace  with  the  family.  I  had  the 
senora  apologizing  for  driving  over  me  that  day 
on  the  Paseo.  But  now  —  alas  !  "  Sarnette, 
Fernand,  Private,  poured  himself  a  drink. 

Taliaferro  was  sympathetic  for  nearly  two 
minutes,  during  which  he  did  not  once  think  of 
Felise.  With  a  pang  at  such  disloyalty,  his 
mind  returned  from  its  neglect.  Sarnette  de 
parted,  wondering  what  ailed  him. 

The  madman  went  at  dusk  to  the  Calle  de 
Medinas.  He  had  to  ask  the  way  once  or  twice. 


THE   CALLE   DE   MEDINAS  153 

Not  over  a  score  of  people  recognized  him  as 
"  Cirujano." 

Reaching  the  divine  street,  he  discovered  that 
he  did  not  know  the  divine  number.  The  Calle 
extended  one  long  square  with  perhaps  fifteen 
houses  on  each  side.  He  had  to  watch  about 
sixty  balconies.  Those  on  the  north  were  easier, 
being  in  moonlight.  If  he  had  only  told  her  he 
was  coming !  He  tried  to  guess  the  house. 
They  were  a  good  deal  alike  —  in  appearance  — 
and  much  like  other  houses.  They  all  had  tinted 
walls,  iron-barred  windows,  and  balconies  "  too 
high,  alas ! "  Glimpses  through  round-arched 
entrances  revealed  patios  with  Alhambra-like 
arcades,  marble  pavements,  exquisite  fountains, 
precious  vases.  One  of  these  places  was  the 
most  glorious  of  earth,  but  Taliaferro  could  find 
no  clew  as  to  which  it  was.  There  were  girls 
on'  some  of  the  balconies  and  young  men  be 
neath.  The  American  was  like  a  planet  among 
fixed  stars. 

A  girl  stepped  out  on  a  moonlight  balcony, 
and  Roderick's  heart  leaped.  "  It  is  she  ! " 
thought  he.  He  hastened  toward  her  through 
the  moonlight,  but  —  unpardonable  mistake  — 
it  was  not  she. 

"  In  what  language  is  your  name  to-night, 
Lieutenant-major  ?  "  said  the  girl. 

Her  tone  was  such  that  the  remark  did  not 
seem  to  be  addressed  to  Taliaferro.  He  failed  to 
observe  that  it  was,  nor  did  he  catch  the  words. 


154  RODERICK  TALIAFERRO 

"  You  can't  be  Taillefer ;"  said  she  ;  "  he  wears 
a  beard." 

"  What !  "  exclaimed  he,  much  startled. 

"  Why,  you  don't  even  know  me  !  "  exclaimed 
the  lady,  in  grieved  tones. 

"  Ah  !  You,  Senorita  Chona  !  Then  this  is 
the  place ! " 

"  You  are  horribly  uncomplimentary,"  said 
she.  "Your  friend,  the  vicomte,  was  more 
gallant  with  Felise." 

"Are  you  seeking  revenge  for  that?"  laughed  he. 

"When  you  do  finally  recognize  me,"  complained 
she,  "  you  regard  me  merely  as  a  living  door-plate 
whose  presence  says  <  Here  lives  Felise  ! ' 

"  A  very  bright  door-plate,  I  see,"  said  he. 

"  It  takes  you  a  long  time  to  see  it.  I  fear 
you  were  dazzled  before  you  looked." 

"  I  fear  I  was  !  "  sighed  he. 

"  Oh,  I'll  call  her !  "  exclaimed  she,  in  mock 
despair.  "  You  won't  flirt  and  you  won't  fib.  I 
don't  believe  you  know  how.  You  should  make 
the  vicomte  teach  you." 

"  Won't  you  ?  "  asked  he. 

"  You  are  beyond  my  powers,"  said  she,  and 
disappeared. 

"Bright  little  body,"  thought  he,  but  the 
thought  was  obliterated  by  the  magnificent  idea, 
"  I've  found  her,  she's  coming,  she's  here  !  "  It 
was  miraculous.  It  was  awe-inspiring.  He  be 
held  her,  looking  down,  her  eyes  on  his.  Like 
incense  floated  up  his  word,  "  Felise  !  " 


THE   CALLE   DE   MEDINAS  155 

"  What  rashness  to  come  here,  Don  Roderick  !  " 
said  she.  "  Are  you  mad  ?  " 

"  Deliciously  !  "  said  he.  "  I  wouldn't  be  sane 
for  worlds." 

"  I  didn't  dream  you  would  do  this,"  she  said. 
"  You  must  go  —  you  are  risking  everything  !  " 

"  Aren't  you  glad  to  see  me  ?  " 

"  Not  here,  not  now !  Oh,  don't  you  know 
how  glad  I'd  be  if  it  were  safe  ?  " 

"  It  is  six  years  since  last  night,"  said  he. 

"  Think  how  long  it  will  be  if  you  are  taken ! 
Please  go,  please  !  " 

"  Your  eyes  say, '  Stay  ! '  I  like  their  orders 
better." 

"  Then  I  won't  look,"  said  she. 

«  Felise ! " 

«  Yes  ?  " 

"  Do  you  love  me  ?  " 

"  Ssh !  Yes,  if  you  go  now.  If  you  stay,  I 
won't." 

"  The  threat  terrifies  me,"  said  he. 

"  Please  —  Roderick  !  " 

"  Oh,  thou  adorable  !  I  will  die  if  I  don't  kiss 
you  for  that !  " 

"  Listen,"  said  she.  "  Until  you  are  pardoned, 
I  do  not  want  my  father  to  know  about  —  us. 
I  have  deceived  him.  To-day  I  pleaded  for  you 
with  the  Empress.  If  it  is  in  her  power,  you 
shall  have  justice.  Won't  you  wait  till  then  ?  " 

"  Felise,  Felise,  if  you  knew  how  my  soul 
starves  for  the  sight  of  you !  " 


156  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

"  It  is  fatal,  fatal !  Any  moment  Don  Jose 
may  come.  He  will  have  you  seized  ;  my  father 
will  know ! " 

"  I'm  sick  of  running  away  from  Don  Jose," 
said  he. 

"  Don  Roderick,  a  quarrel  here  would  put  a 
bar  between  us  we  could  never  break.  Do  you 
wish  that?" 

"  No,  Felise  ;  but  you  are  the  only  human  being 
who  can  put  between  us  such  a  bar." 

"Things  looked  so  bright  to-day,"  said  she,  hope 
lessly.  "  You  are  making  me  most  unhappy." 

"  Good  night,  Felise,"  said  he,  quickly. 

"  Good  night,"  said  she.  He  turned  away. 
"  Don  Roderick  !  "  called  she. 

"  Yes  ?  "  he  answered,  stopping. 

"  You  aren't  angry  with  me  ?  " 

"  What  makes  you  ask  ?  "  inquired  he,  coming 
back. 

"  You  started  away  so  —  abruptly,"  said  she. 

"  That  was  what  you  wished." 

«  Yes,  but  —  " 

«  But  what  ?  " 

"You  seemed  so  —  cold." 

"  Not  toward  you,  Felise  !  " 

"  I  mean  —  I  —  I'm  sorry  if  what  I  said  hurt 
you." 

"  I  hate  to  admit  it,  but  you  made  me  feel  how 
inconsiderate  I  was  in  staying  when  it  made 
you  anxious." 

"  Weren't  you  the  least  little  bit  vexed  ?  " 


THE   CALLE   DE   MEDINAS  157 

"  At  myself  —  yes." 

"  I  had  to  say  something  to  make  you  go," 
she  said,  "  and  you  must  go.  But  oh,  my  soldier, 
if  you  knew  how  my  heart  loves  your  foolish, 
fearless  heart  for  coming  here  !  " 

"  Sweet  Inconsistency,  you've  done  nothing 
but  scold  me  for  it." 

"  My  judgment  scolds  you,  but  I — I  love  you!" 

The  ambrosial  words  swept  out  of  their  bliss 
ful  hearts  all  thought  of  time  and  place.  The 
Republicans  could  have  stormed  the  city  with 
out  attracting  their  attention.  The  height  of 
the  balcony  was  life's  one  flaw.  Taliaferro 
finally  became  aware  that  a  man  beside  him  was 
calling  him  an  idiot.  It  was  Sarnette. 

"  Go  instantly  !  "  commanded  he.  «  There's 
an  officer  of  gendarmes  at  the  corner.  As  I 
passed,  a  gendarme  was  telling  him  of  some  one 
here.  They're  after  you  !  " 

"  Don't  delay  one  instant !  "  begged  Felise. 

"  Good  night !  "  said  Roderick.  With  tighten 
ing  lips  he  started. 

"  Not  that  way  !  "  said  Sarnette  ;  "  that's  where 
I  saw  them.  Hist !  They're  coming !  Get 
back  to  Pila  Seca  Street ! " 

Taliaferro  turned  back,  but  coming  from  Pila 
Seca  through  the  moonlight  were  two  more 
gendarmes.  He  crossed  into  the  shadow,  hoping 
to  pass  unseen. 

Felise  gave  an  exclamation  of  dismay. 

"What  is  it?"  asked  Sarnette,  straining  his  eyes. 


158  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

"  Look  !  "  she  exclaimed  —  "  on  this  side  !  " 

Behind  the  gendarmes,  from  Pila  Seca,  along 
the  moonlit  sidewalk,  came  Don  Jose. 

"  Diable  !  "  muttered  Sarnette. 

From  the  shadow  came  a  sharp  "Haiti"  A 
gendarme's  whistle  shrilled. 

"  There,  too  !  "  exclaimed  Sarnette. 

The  gendarmes  from  Pila  Seca  dashed  across 
the  street ;  those  from  Santo  Domingo  ran  past 
the  house  to  the  spot.  There  were  excited 
voices,  and  then  Taliaferro's,  saying  :  "  Be  quiet ! 
Get  me  away  from  here  !  " 

"  They've  got  him  !  "  groaned  Sarnette. 

"  Oh,  why  didn't  I  make  him  go  at  first ! " 
exclaimed  Felise. 

"  Once  here,  there  was  no  escape  for  him,"  said 
Sarnette,  tactfully,  and  started  across  to  the 
scene  of  the  arrest. 

"For  pity's  sake,  Vicomte,"  said  she,  "find 
out  what  happens,  and  let  me  know  ! " 

She  saw  Don  Jose  cross  into  the  shadow 
where  Taliaferro  was.  Beside  her,  on  the 
balcony,  appeared  her  father. 

"  What  is  the  excitement  ? "  he  asked.  «  I 
heard  a  whistle  call." 

Felise  did  not  answer.  Across  the  street  the 
gendarmes  and  their  prisoner  passed  under  the 
light  of  a  bracket  lantern. 

"What's  this?"  repeated  Don  Miguel.  "Fe 
lise,  do  you  know  ?  " 

Still    she    did    not   speak.      The   gendarmes 


THE   CALLE   DE   MEDINAS  159 

tramped  off  toward  Santo  Domingo,  obliquing 
into  the  light.  "  Why  don't  you  answer  me  ?  " 
demanded  Don  Miguel,  but  before  she  could,  De 
Castro  emerged  from  the  shadow  and  greeted 
the  two  above. 

"  What  has  happened,  Don  Jose  ?  "  demanded 
Medina. 

"  The  police  have  arrested  a  man,"  said  Don 
Jose. 

"  Who  was  it  ?  " 

There  were  people  within  hearing.  Instead  of 
answering,  Don  Jos6  asked  if  he  might  come  up. 

"  By  all  means,"  said  Don  Miguel. 

De  Castro  stepped  to  the  door  and  knocked 
for  the  porter. 

"  Father,"  said  Felise,  "  that  man  was  Senor 
Taliaferro.  For  pity's  sake,  don't  make  me  talk 
of  it  before  Don  Jose  !  " 

"  Taliaferro  !  "  exclaimed  Don  Miguel.  "  Ar 
rested  beneath  your  balcony  !  How  far  has  this 
thing  gone  ?  " 

Felise  did  not  tell  him. 

"  Were  you  talking  with  him  here  ?  " 

"  Yes,"  said  the  girl. 

"  With  him  !  —  a  fugitive  from  justice  !  " 

"  From  injustice  !  "  corrected  she. 

"  He  is  condemned  to  prison  !  " 

"  He  never  had  a  trial !  " 

"  Was  he  that  man  at  the  ball  ?  " 

Felise  was  miserably  silent. 

"  I   did   not   think   you   would   deceive   me ! " 


160  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

exclaimed  Don  Miguel.  "  Good  God  !  —  an  ad 
venturer,  a  bull-fighter,  an  outlaw  from  his  own 
country  !  Have  you  no  pride  ?  Have  you  for 
gotten  that  the  best  blood  of  two  centuries  is  in 
your  veins  ?  " 

"  He's  not  an  outlaw  !  He  would  not  endure 
tyranny.  There's  no  such  man  as  he  in  Mexico ! 
The  Vicomtesse  de  Saint-Castin  knows  his 
family  —  his  father  was  ambassador  to  France  !  " 

"  And  what  is  he  ?  "  asked  Don  Miguel. 

"  A  soldier  !  "  said  Felise,  with  pride.  "  He  is 
Major  Taliaferro  of  the  Confederate  army." 

"  An  army  which  does  not  exist ! "  said  Don 
Miguel.  "  You've  evidently  listened  to  the 
American's  story.  Is  he  a  Catholic  ?  " 

"  No,"  said  Felise.  Her  voice  was  faint,  and 
her  indignant  strength  forsook  her. 

"  Among  other  things,  a  heretic  !  "  exclaimed 
Don  Miguel.  "  Felise,  I  forbid  you  to  see  that 
man  ! " 


VI 

CONCERNING  REVOLVER  BUTTS 

THAT  night  De  Castro  and  Medina  decided 
that  Taliaferro  should  be  sent  out  of  the  country 
once  for  all.  Felise  would  forget  him  sooner 
than  if  he  lay  in  prison  near  her  with  prospect 
of  ultimate  liberation.  She  should  be  told  as 
soon  as  possible  that  the  man  was  gone  for 
ever. 

Don  Jose  went  straight  from  the  Calle  de 
Medinas  to  the  Municipal  Palace  where  Talia 
ferro  had  been  taken.  Five  minutes'  talk  with 
Uguarte,  he  thought,  would  close  the  incident. 

Amazement  awaited  him.  When  he  men 
tioned  Taliaferro,  Uguarte  tossed  him  a  sheet  of 
manuscript. 

"  At  the  request  of  her  Majesty,"  said  the 
Director  of  Police,  "  that  order  will  appear  in 
to-morrow's  <  Diario.' ' 

It  was  an  Imperial  order  revoking  the  prison 
sentence  of  Roderick  Taliaferro.  Publication 
made  it  law.  It  bore  the  signature  and  seal  of 
Maximilian. 

De  Castro  ripped  it  in  two  and  crushed  the 
pieces. 

M  161 


162  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

"  That's  going  too  far,  De  Castro  !  "  exclaimed 
Uguarte,  leaping  up. 

"  Your  imitation  Emperor  to  hell !  "  cried  Don 
Jose".  "This  puny  business  stops  right  here. 
I'll  settle  Mister  Taliaferro  myself.  As  for  the 
Austrian  —  " 

"  Stop,  sir  !  "  thundered  Uguarte.  "  Your  talk 
is  treason ! " 

"  Treason !  The  word  sounds  well,  Uguarte, 
from  a  Mexican  who  serves  a  foreign  king ! " 

"  Don't  go  too  far !  " 

There  was  a  knock. 

"  Come  !  "  called  Uguarte. 

Colonel  Tindal  entered,  saw  De  Castro,  and 
tried  to  withdraw. 

"  What  is  it,  Colonel  ?  "  asked  Uguarte,  not 
sorry  for  the  interruption. 

"  My  General,"  said  Tindal,  "  the  man  you 
spoke  of  has  been  captured  and  brought  here, 
and  in  view  of  the  Imperial  order  —  " 

"  Taliaferro  ?  "  asked  Uguarte. 

"Yes,"  said  Tindal,  looking  askance  at  Don  Jose". 

"  Release  him,"  said  Uguarte. 

"  To-night,  sir  ?  " 

"  Now." 

Tindal  saluted  and  went  out.  Taliaferro  was 
led  to  Colonel  Tindal's  office,  and,  to  his  aston 
ishment,  informed  that  he  was  free.  From  the 
headquarters  of  the  gendarmerie  he  and  Sarnette, 
who  had  followed  him,  emerged  rejoicing. 

In  the  corridor  they  were  met  by  De  Castro. 


CONCERNING  REVOLVER  BUTTS     163 

Fire  in  ice  is  like  that  meeting.  Seconds  were 
superfluous.  De  Castro  challenged  and  Taliaferro 
proposed  terms. 

"  Senor  Taliaferro's  injured  arm  puts  him  at  a 
disadvantage,"  objected  Sarnette. 

"  Senor  De  Castro's  hand  is  cut,"  said  Talia 
ferro.  "  Those  terms  permit  the  use  of  the  left 
hand  and  are  decisive." 

"  I  accept  them,"  said  De  Castro. 

They  were  to  meet  at  Popotla  in  the  dawn. 

The  moon  had  set;  the  sun  had  not  yet 
risen.  Out  of  the  lantern-lighted  patio  of  No. 
14,  Calle  de  Zuleta,  rode  three  men.  They  did 
not  talk.  The  clatter  of  hoofs  awoke  a  night 
watchman,  who  blinked  as  the  horsemen  passed 
through  the  discouraged  ray  of  his  lantern. 
Marquando  was  wrapped  in  a  sarape.  Sarnette 
and  Taliaferro  wore  cavalry  overcoats. 

Sleep  had  slowed  their  blood.  Quickened  in 
dreams,  imagination  pierced  the  kindly  veils  of 
life.  Black  and  silent  beneath  the  inconceivable 
stars,  the  planet  seemed  as  dead.  Taliaferro  was 
ready  to  die.  In  the  east  appeared  a  gray  spot 
amid  the  blackness.  A  swallow  twittered  in 
some  dark  garden. 

They  reached  Popotla,  and  halted  beneath  the 
Tree  of  the  Dismal  Night. 

"Cortez  sat  here,"  said  Marquando. 

« The  dawn,"  said  Taliaferro.  "It  comes  like 
a  gray  ghost." 


164  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

They  waited  silent. 

Part  of  the  gray  turned  crimson.  "A  ghost 
with  bloody  hair." 

Sarnette  shivered.  "De  Castro's,  then,"  said 
he. 

The  gray  light  grew.  Mist  curled  across  the 
fields,  the  cypresses  stood  black  against  the  sky. 
The  crest  of  the  Dismal  Tree  was  touched  with 
reddish  light.  Out  of  the  mist  came  horsemen. 

"  Four  of  them,"  said  Sarnette. 

The  four  came  up.  Colonel  Miguel  Lopez, 
De  Castro's  second,  advanced.  •"  A  little  farther, 
on  the  right,  there  is  a  passage  to  the  fields,"  he 
said.  "  Shall  we  precede  ?  " 

"  Yes,"  said  Marquando ;  and  the  two  parties 
turned  down  a  byway,  passed  through  a  brick 
gateway,  arid  thence  on  between  rows  of  maguey 
to  the  bank  of  a  small  stream  lined  with  alamos. 
They  dismounted.  With  De  Castro  was  a  big 
priest,  Father  Fischer,  and  the  Pole  Yablouski, 
an  officer  in  the  Empress's  Regiment.  Neither 
side  had  brought  a  surgeon.  Few  words  were 
spoken.  Taliaferro  drew  off  his  gloves  and 
rolled  a  cigarette,  clumsily  using  his  right  hand. 
Leaning  against  a  willow,  De  Castro  barked  it 
with  his  spur.  Yablouski  and  Sarnette  chose 
the  place  and  stepped  off  ten  paces. 

Marquando  and  Lopez  drew  to  one  side.  Each 
produced  a  pair  of  Colt's  revolvers.  Marquando 
won  a  toss  and  his  pair  was  chosen,  the  others 
laid  aside.  Lopez  slipped  six  cartridges  into  one 


CONCERNING   REVOLVER  BUTTS  165 

of  the  revolvers.  The  other  was  to  remain  empty. 
He  handed  the  loaded  revolver  to  Marquando  for 
inspection.  Marquando  looked  at  it,  handed  it 
back,  and  stooped  to  pick  up  the  empty  one. 
Out  of  the  tail  of  his  eye  he  saw  a  movement  of 
Lopez's  fingers. 

"Excuse  me,  Colonel,"  said  he,  taking  the 
loaded  weapon  from  the  hand  of  Lopez.  Down 
near  the  butt,  across  the  diamond-shaped  corruga 
tions  of  the  ebony  was  a  slight  mark.  Marquando 
took  out  the  cartridges  and  put  them  in  the  other 
revolver. 

"  Why  are  you  doing  that  ?  "  demanded  Lopez, 
angrily. 

"  Since  the  mark  of  your  thumb-nail  cannot 
be  intended  as  a  sign  to  De  Castro,"  said  Mar 
quando,  "you  can  have  no  objection  to  the 
change." 

"  If  either  of  those  pistols  is  marked,"  said 
Lopez,  "  we  must  take  another  in  its  place." 

"  Unwillingness  to  use  that  pistol  has  an  ugly 
look,"  said  Marquando.  "  A  single  word  or  sign 
to  De  Castro  means  that  I  shoot  you,  Colonel 
Lopez." 

Lopez  went  from  red  to  white  and  back. 
Marquando  asked  him  to  fold  the  sarape.  He 
kept  the  loaded  pistol  in  his  hand,  and  unbuckled 
the  strap  over  his  own.  Lopez  folded  the  sarape. 
On  the  lower  thickness,  at  Marquando's  repeated 
order,  he  laid  the  marked  and  empty  pistol.  He 
placed  the  marked  side  down.  Marquando  turned 


166  RODERICK  TALIAFERRO 

it  over,  forced  Lopez  to  be  silent,  and  placed  the 
loaded  one  beside  the  other.  Over  the  barrel 
and  chamber  of  both  alike  he  drew  the  upper 
thickness  of  the  sarape.  With  his  hand  grace 
fully  resting  on  his  own  pistol,  he  called :  — 

"We  are  ready.  The  principals  will  advance 
for  the  choice." 

De  Castro  and  Taliaferro  walked  up  to  the 
sarape  and  looked  at  those  two  pistol  butts. 

"  Vicomte  Sarnette,"  said  Marquando,  never 
taking  his  eyes  from  Lopez,  "  will  you  toss  the 
coin  while  Captain  Yablouski  calls  ?  It  is  under 
stood  that  the  principal  of  the  winner  will  take 
his  choice  of  these  two  pistols." 

Sarnette  felt  for  a  coin.  Taliaferro  silently 
handed  him  the  twenty  peso  "  Maximilian " 
thrown  down  to  the  arena  by  the  Emperor. 
"  See  what  luck  there  is  in  that,"  thought  he. 

Sarnette  balanced  the  coin  upon  his  forefinger. 
Beneath  it,  like  a  cocked  hammer,  pressed  his 
thumb.  He  realized  that  upon  one  iota  more  or 
less  of  force,  upon  one  single  revolution  of  the 
coin,  depended  Taliaferro's  life.  Every  eye  but 
Marquando's  was  fixed  upon  the  coin.  "  Are 
you  ready  ?  "  asked  Sarnette. 

"  Ready,"  answered  the  Pole. 

Ping!  The  two-faced  little  wheel  of  Fate 
spun  whirling  in  the  air. 

"Tails!"  called  the  Pole. 

"Now,  Maximilian,  show  your  face!"  prayed 
Taliaferro. 


CONCERNING  REVOLVER  BUTTS  167 

The  gold  disk  glittered  on  the  ground.  Every 
one  took  a  step  forward.  Sarnette  and  Yablouski 
bent  over  it.  It  was  not  Maximilian,  but  the 
eagle  with  the  serpent  in  his  beak. 

"  Tails  it  is  !  "  cried  the  Pole.  Triumph  was 
in  his  voice.  Taliaferro  turned  pale,  but  instantly 
reminded  himself  that  De  Castro  might  choose 
wrong. 

De  Castro  gave  an  involuntary  gasp  of  relief. 
Don  Hilario  still  looked  at  Lopez,  who  stood 
colorless. 

"  Do  I  choose  ?  "  asked  De  Castro,  carelessly. 

"  Yes,"  said  Marquando. 

De  Castro  knelt  before  the  sarape,  looking 
closely  at  the  pistol  butts.  Taliaferro's  eyes 
were  riveted  upon  them  too.  The  next  instant 
meant  life  or  death. 

"This  will  do,"  said  De  Castro.  Out  from 
the  sarape  he  drew  the  marked  pistol.  He  saw 
the  empty  chambers,  and  whirled  the  useless 
weapon  from  him.  He  clenched  his  hands,  and 
turned  on  Lopez.  Then  he  was  aware  of  Mar 
quando  watching  him,  and  his  voice  died  in  his 
throat.  One  word  would  be  a  confession  of 
treachery. 

Taliaferro  picked  up  the  loaded  pistol,  and 
his  eyes  flashed.  Never  in  all  his  days  had  he 
seen  life  and  death  so  terribly  confronted. 

It  was  settled.  Wire-drawn  nerves  relaxed. 
In  a  moment  every  one  accepted  the  inevi 
table. 


168  RODERICK  TALIAFERRO 

"  Give  me  a  moment  with  the  priest,"  said  De 
Castro.  "  I  need  it  more  than  some." 

Taliaferro  assented.  De  Castro  and  Father 
Fischer  drew  off  a  little  space.  Yablouski  and 
Sarnette  posted  Taliaferro,  who  stood  with  the 
revolver  in  his  left  hand.  He  saw  De  Castro 
kneeling  at  the  feet  of  Father  Fischer.  He  who 
had  shot  prisoners  of  war  was  speaking  there  to 
the  Church  as  a  child  speaks  to  its  mother.  The 
giant  priest  bent  over  to  hear  the  words.  The 
movement  of  his  hands  anointing  the  eyes  and 
ears  and  lips  of  De  Castro  had  upon  Taliaferro 
an  effect  almost  mesmeric.  He  raised  his  eyes. 
The  pink  tower  of  Tacuba  shone  in  the  blithe 
sunshine,  amid  distant  trees.  It  seemed  weirdly 
that  once  before  that  man  about  to  die  kneeled 
so,  that  once  before  the  big  priest's  hands  moved 
so ;  and  just  so  horrible  before  had  been  the 
thought  of  his  red  blood. 

"  A  ghost  with  bloody  hair  !  "  Taliaferro  im 
agined  a  hole  in  the  centre  of  that  forehead 
widening  above  the  temples.  He  decided  to 
aim  for  the  heart. 

De  Castro  rose,  and  turned  toward  the  place 
of  execution. 

"  I  hope  you  can  finish  with  one  shot,"  said 
Marquando. 

Lopez  met  De  Castro,  and  said  something  to 
him. 

"  Let  him  explain,"  thought  Marquando.  "  It 
will  do  no  harm  now." 


Taliaferro  cocked  the  revolver  with  his  thumb,  shut  his  teeth, 
and  drew  a  steady  bead  on  De  Castro's  chest." 


CONCERNING  REVOLVER  BUTTS     169 

De  Castro  made  an  angry  gesture  as  he  asked 
Lopez  a  question,  then  seemed  to  force  the  sub 
ject  from  his  mind.  He  walked  to  the  point 
marked  for  him,  faced  Taliaferro,  and  folded  his 
arms  behind  him. 

"You  may  begin,"  he  said.  The  crossing  of  his 
arms  in  that  manner  threw  his  chest  out  proudly. 
His  chin  was  drawn  in,  his  eyes  were  superbly  cold. 

It  seemed  like  a  dream  to  Taliaferro.  Was  he 
going  to  shoot  this  man  in  cold  blood  ?  That 
was  certainly  his  intention.  "  He  insulted  me," 
argued  Taliaferro ;  "  he  attacked  me  unarmed, 
he  lied,  he  drovre  me  from  the  cit}^,  he  tried  to 
imprison  me,  he  would  have  killed  me  had  he 
chosen  right !  " 

«  Well  ?  "  said  Don  Jose. 

Taliaferro  cocked  the  revolver  with  his  thumb, 
shut  his  teeth,  and  drew  a  steady  bead  on  De 
Castro's  chest.  The  Mexican  did  not  move  a 
muscle.  Through  Taliaferro  passed  a  thrill  of 
admiration  for  the  man  who  could  die  like  that ! 
His  face  suddenly  brightened,  and  raising  his 
arm,  he  fired  in  the  air. 

"  Oh,  weak  !  "  exclaimed  Sarnette. 

"  You  have  still  five  shots ! "  shouted  Mar- 
quando. 

"  This  thing  is  over,"  said  Taliaferro. 

Upon  De  Castro's  face  was  visible  relief  and 
—  scorn. 

"  He  would  have  shot  you  without  mercy," 
said  Sarnette. 


170  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

De  Castro  turned  away  without  a  word. 

"  Lopez  marked  the  pistol  De  Castro  chose," 
said  Marquando,  reproachfully.  "  I  changed 
the  cartridges,  or  you'd  be  a  dead  man  now  ! " 

"  Just  try  it  yourself,"  said  Taliaferro.  "  Ex 
cuse  me  from  any  more  duels  like  this ! " 

"  It  was  your  own  proposition,"  said  Sarnette. 

"  Don't  think  your  generosity  will  win  De 
Castro,"  said  Marquando.  "  He  will  hate  you 
doubly  from  this  day  forth." 

"  Can't  help  it,"  said  Taliaferro.  "  I  couldn't 
shoot  him  in  cold  blood." 

In  the  end  of  the  Empire,  Taliaferro  found  to 
his  sorrow  that  Marquando  spoke  the  truth. 

"  There's  not  enough  iron  in  you  yet,"  said  the 
Vicomte  de  Sarnette. 


VII 

FAREWELL 

WHEN  Roderick  rode  into  the  city  that  morn 
ing,  life  had  no  flaw.  The  menace  of  prison,  the 
danger  of  duel,  were  past.  Commission,  active 
service,  promotion,  a  place  in  Imperial  society, 
were  well  within  his  grasp,  and  having  them, 
he  felt  that  he  had  Felise. 

Eager  to  let  her  know  of  his  liberation,  he 
rode  at  once  to  her  house.  Back  and  forth  he 
went  a  dozen  times,  gazing  at  the  divine  window, 
but  she  did  not  appear.  He  decided  that  it  was 
still  too  early. 

The  concierge  opened  the  street  doors,  and 
from  the  patio  Don  Miguel  came  out  on  horse 
back.  Seeing  Taliaferro,  he  gave  a  start  that 
jerked  his  horse's  mouth. 

"  Impossible ! "  he  exclaimed.  The  horse 
danced  resentment. 

"  Good  morning,  General  Medina,"  said  Talia 
ferro,  in  French.  "  Did  you  speak  to  me  ?  " 

"  It  can't  be  you  !  "  said  Don  Miguel,  "  you 
are  in  jail !  " 

"  I  do  not  understand  Spanish,"  said  Roderick, 
though  he  saw  well  enough  the  cause  of  Medi 
na's  astonishment. 

171 


172  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

"  You  are  prisoner,"  said  Don  Miguel,  in  feeble 
French.  "  Have  you  evaded  still  ?  How  are 
you  here  ?  " 

"  By  order  of  the  Emperor,"  said  Taliaferro, 
gravely. 

The  general  said  some  things  in  Spanish  that 
Roderick  did  not  understand. 

Hearing  an  exclamation  he  looked  up  and  saw 
Felise,  the  picture  of  amazement,  joy,  and  fear. 

"  Good  morning,  Senorita  Felise,"  he  said, 
calmly.  "  I  came  to  let  you  know  that  thanks 
to  some  one's  influence  with  the  Empress,  I  am 
free.  Your  father  and  I  don't  seem  to  under 
stand  each  other  very  well.  Perhaps  you  can 
explain." 

"  What  do  you  wish  to  say  ?  "  asked  she,  trying 
to  be  calm. 

Don  Miguel  was  bursting  with  things  to  say, 
but  did  not  know  how  in  French,  and  did  not 
care  to  have  Felise  interpret.  Spurring  his 
horse,  he  went  back  into  the  patio. 

"  I  seem  to  have  interrupted  General  Medina's 
ride,"  observed  Taliaferro. 

"A  terrible  thing  has  happened,"  said  she, 
with  low,  swift  words.  "  Last  night  he  forbade 
my  ever  seeing  you  again ! " 

"  Very  foolish,"  said  Roderick.  «  Where  shall 
I  see  you  ?  " 

«  Oh,  I  can't,  I  can't,  Don  Roderick !  " 

"  You  don't  mean  to  obey  ! "  exclaimed  he. 

«  Felise  ! "  called  Don  Miguel,  within. 


FAREWELL  173 

«  You  must  go  !  "  she  exclaimed.  "  I'll  write." 
She  kissed  her  hand  to  him  passionately,  and 
went  in. 

Failing  to  realize  the  strength  of  filial  affec 
tion  in  the  Spanish  blood,  Roderick  rode  away 
without  appreciating  the  importance  of  the  role 
it  was  to  play  in  his  life.  He  had  no  idea  of 
the  bitter  struggle  then  beginning  in  the  heart 
of  Felise.  He  decided,  however,  to  wait  for  her 
letter  before  trying  to  see  her  again. 

With  old  commissions  and  records,  he  called 
on  Captain  Pierron,  the  Emperor's  secretary  for 
military  affairs,  and  applied  for  a  commission 
as  Commandant  of  Imperial  Cavalry.  Pierron 
glanced  at  the  papers,  was  impressed,  and  prom 
ised  that  the  application  should  receive  attention. 

That  day  and  the  next  passed  with  no  word 
from  Felise ;  but  on  the  third,  Roderick  re 
ceived  at  the  same  time  an  official  envelope  from 
the  National  Palace  and  a  feminine  note  from 
the  Alcazar  de  Chapultepec. 

"  I  am  crushed  !  "  said  the  note.  "  I  cannot 
disobey  my  father,  and  I  cannot  give  you  up.  I 
am  torn  by  these  two  loves ! 

"  My  father  asked  me  if  you  were  a  Catholic. 
Alas,  Don  Roderick,  what  could  I  say  ?  — '  Not 
even  a  Christian '  ? 

"  My  father  is  reading  now  a  learned  treatise 
sealed  with  the  approval  of  the  Holy  See.  Its 
title  is  '  Liberalism  is  Sin.'  I  read  and  saw  that 
this  sin  is  mortal !  I  cannot,  I  dare  not  believe 


174  RODERICK  TALIAFERRO 

that  in  you  it  is.  You  cannot  help  it.  Can  that 
be  sin  which  is  not  one's  own  fault  ?  I  am  not 
skilled  in  logic,  but  I  feel  that  sin  is  of  the  heart, 
not  of  the  mind.  And  yet  the  Holy  See  ap 
proves  this  doctrine ! 

"  What  is  happening  to  me  ?  Am  I  turning 
heretic  for  you  ?  I  pray  daily  that  not  this,  but 
the  contrary,  may  come  to  pass.  What  mystery 
is  this  that  a  young  stranger  should  one  day 
appear  in  my  life,  and  my  very  soul,  which  grew 
so  slowly  through  the  years,  is  changed ! 

"  If  you  only  knew  Padre  Geronimo,  the 
saintly  priest  of  Cazadero  !  You  could  not  help 
but  love  him.  He  is  a  scholar,  and  I  feel  sure 
could  make  you  see  the  truth. 

"  If  you  love  me,  do  not  try  to  see  me  now  — 
do  not  come  to  my  house  or  here,  for  something 
too  terrible  to  think  of  will  happen  if  you  do ! 

"  Oh,  my  sweet  love !  If  you  but  knew  the 
aching  love  of  you  that  fills  my  heart ! " 

The  last  sentence  was  all  that  impressed  Rod 
erick  much.  It  had  a  profound  effect  every  one 
of  the  twenty-five  times  he  looked  to  see  if  it 
was  still  there.  He  had  expected  the  note  to 
tell  him  where  to  see  her. 

After  an  hour  or  two,  it  occurred  to  him  to 
open  the  official  envelope.  Captain  Pierron  had 
honor  to  state  that  Seiior  Taliaferro  had  been 
appointed  Captain  of  Irregular  Cavalry,  and 
assigned  to  the  regiment  of  Colonel  Campos, 
then  at  Matehuila.  It  was  not  what  Taliaferro 


FAREWELL  175 

had  asked,  but  it  was  an  opening  —  it  gave  a 
chance  to  rise.  He  went  to  Pierron  and  accepted. 
He  was  asked  to  report  to  Campos  as  soon  as 
possible. 

Ordinarily  he  would  have  started  toward  duty 
within  the  hour,  but  this  was  not  ordinarily. 
He  sent  a  messenger  with  a  note  to  Chapultepec. 
It  said :  "  To-morrow  I  go  north  on  active  ser 
vice.  I  may  be  gone  a  year.  Be  at  the  Vicom- 
tesse  de  Saint-Castin's  this  evening."  If  she 
was  not  there,  he  meant  to  go  to  Chapultepec  or 
to  her  house.  But  he  found  her  at  the  Villa 
Saint-Castin. 

The  White  Woman  and  her  lofty  lover,  Popo 
catepetl,  glowed  in  the  east  like  everlasting 
gods  ;  the  moon-flowers  opened  their  white  hearts 
to  twilight  lovers ;  and  again  Felise  and  Roder 
ick  stood  together  as  in  the  magic  night  their 
lips  first  met.  The  unthinking  rapture  of  ap 
proach  was  gone ;  the  spirit  of  farewell  evoked 
the  melancholy  which  is  in  all  deepest  love ;  it 
was  like  autumn  in  their  hearts. 

Roderick  found  her  with  overwrought  emo 
tions,  and  made  her  control  them.  "Felise," 
said  he,  "your  feelings  are  like  beautiful  horses 
ready  to  run  away  with  you.  Put  on  the 
curb ! " 

"  I  fear  my  feeling  for  one  Don  Roderick  must 
be  curbed,"  said  she. 

"  That  horse  must  have  his  head,"  said  he. 
He  belittled  their  difficulties,  laughed  at  her 


176  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

fears,  reminded  her  of  the  bars  that  had  already 
fallen.  "  Thanks  to  you,  Felise,"  he  said,  "  the 
cloud  is  lifted  from  my  life,  and  a  career  has 
opened." 

She  feared  he  would  be  killed  in  battle. 

"  Nonsense ! "  said  he.  "  I  shall  return  a 
colonel." 

She  told  him  that  Don  Jose1  had  gone  north, 
it  was  said,  to  rejoin  the  Juaristas.  If  Roderick 
should  fall  into  his  hands ! 

He  showed  her  that  Don  Jose  was  more  likely 
to  fall  into  his. 

Don  Jose  had  sent  a  letter  telling  her  father 
that  Taliaferro  and  he  had  fought  a  duel  about 
her.  She  tried  to  make  Roderick  understand 
what  barrier  a  duel  was. 

He  laughed  it  to  scorn  for  an  absurd  custom. 
"  There  are  times  when  a  gentleman  must  fight 
for  a  lady  !  " 

She  told  him  that  talk  of  it  had  spread, 
that  people  were  remembering  the  rose  she  had 
thrown  him,  that  feminine  eyes  were  watching, 
and  feminine  tongues  were  ready  for  her  if  she 
should  countenance  that  duel.  She  did  not  use 
their  words,  for  they  called  it  "  the  duel  of  the 
penniless  adventurer."  Doiia  Casilda's  tongue 
foreran  the  event  and  impressed  its  enormity  on 
Don  Miguel. 

Roderick  grew  tired  of  it,  and  told  her  that 
though  a  meeting  had  been  arranged,  not  a  shot 
was  fired. 


FAREWELL  177 

"  Did  you  make  friends  ?  " 

The  thing  was  incomprehensible  to  her  when 
he  said  «  No,"  and  at  last,  in  justice  to  himself, 
he  told  her  the  whole  thing. 

"  You  proposed  those  terrible  terms ! "  ex 
claimed  she. 

"  I  wanted  to  kill  him,"  he  admitted. 

"  If  you  had,  we  could  never  —  "  she  stopped. 

"  Have  married  ?  "  said  he,  charmed  with  her 
blush  and  the  unspoken  word. 

She  sighed.     "  We  never  can  as  it  is  !  " 

"  Why  not  ?  "  demanded  he. 

"  My  father  — "  she  said,  and  paused  for 
words. 

"  I  swear,  dearest  Felise,  I  had  forgotten  you 
had  a  father ! "  exclaimed  he.  "  To  me  you 
seem  to  have  risen  foam-born  from  the  sea  ! " 

"  I  am  disobeying  him  to-night  for  the  first 
time  in  my  life,"  said  she. 

"  It's  time  you  began,"  said  he. 

His  irreverence  shocked  her,  for  her  whole  life 
and  education  had  made  her  earthly  father  only 
less  sacred  to  her  than  the  Father  in  Heaven. 
Roderick's  spirit  swept  her  like  a  rushing, 
mighty  wind  toward  wider  thoughts  and  ways 
of  individual  life.  Her  idols  rocked;  she  grew 
hostile  in  their  defence.  Her  father  and  her 
religion  were  somehow  linked  in  her  mind. 
Her  hostility  roused  his.  He  was  bitter  with 
the  thought  that  those  old  religious  hatreds 
which  had  burned  men's  bodies  in  the  past 


178  RODERICK  TALIAFERRO 

should  come  between  him  and  the  woman  Na 
ture  had  made  capable  of  exquisite,  harmonious 
life  with  him. 

"Oh,  peace!"  he  cried,  as  much  to  his  own 
warring  thoughts  as  to  hers.  "  It  is  true,  Felise ! 
It  may  be  you  and  I  shall  never  meet  again ! 
Forget  our  difference !  Give  the  good  tenderness 
its  way !  Doesn't  your  heart  know  it  is  better 
than  our  strife?" 

Her  heart  knew,  but  —  he  went  into  the 
north,  not  her  betrothed. 

Month  after  month  went  by,  and  Roderick 
did  not  return.  From  the  time  Felise  first  saw 
him  till  he  said  good-by,  there  had  been  but  a 
dozen  days  —  intense,  but  only  days.  She  was 
eighteen. 

Was  she  a  little  spoiled  by  being  a  court 
beauty  flattered  by  famous  men?  Did  she 
smile  on  boyish  Ortiz,  think  of  the  Baron 
d'Huart?  Did  Roderick's  image  grow  less 
clear  ? 

Yes. 

And  more  than  all,  the  sacred  church,  linked 
with  her  mother's  memory,  and  full  of  God's 
deep  love,  drew  her  away  from  him  who  loved 
it  not. 

Yet  under  it  all,  tender  as  tears,  deep  as  her 
heart,  associated  forever  in  her  mind  with  the 
spiritual  rapture  of  sex,  was  the  memory  of  his 
eyes  shining  close  in  her  first  kiss. 

A  letter  of  hers  went  with  him  through  hun- 


FAREWELL  179 

dreds  of  leagues  of  dust  and  a  dozen  skirmishes. 
The  firelight  of  the  hundredth  evening  found  it 
new.  Read  in  the  saddle  by  the  glow  of  a 
cigarette,  it  lent  more  than  Arabian  fragrance 
to  the  weed. 

In  that  letter  was  a  certain  little  circle  of 
delicious  meaning,  and  near  it  stood  the  words, 
"  I'm  glad  ink  cannot  blush ! "  There  was  a  row 

of  little  dashes,  "- !"  and  the 

words,  "That's  the  pen's  whisper  —  can  you 
hear  ?  "  He  had  asked  her  to  write  in  Spanish. 
"  Would  you  make  a  Spanish  primer  of  me  ? " 
inquired  the  letter.  "I  think  you  call  me 
'Querida'  and  'Mi  Alma'  just  to  learn  the 
words.  I  think  you  love  the  word  'encanta- 
dora'  more  than  me.  Beware,  or  I  will  tear  it 
from  your  dictionary ! " 

Months  later  came  a  different  letter.  "There 
are  no  balls,  dinners,  or  evenings,"  wrote  the 
maid  of  honor.  "We  are  in  mourning  for  the 
death  of  her  Majesty's  father,  King  Leopold. 
She  takes  it  very  hard,  and  broods  over  not 
having  seen  him.  She  is  no  longer  allowed  to 
go  to  her  husband's  apartments  except  when 
he  sends  for  her.  She  is  far  too  proud  to  show 
it,  but  I  know  she  is  wearing  her  heart  out. 

"They  say  his  Majesty  is  so  morose  because 
Napoleon  is  going  to  break  the  treaty  of  Mira- 
mar  and  take  his  troops  away  from  Mexico. 
My  father  says  the  United  States  will  make 
him. 


180  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

"I  tried  to  tell  my  father  that  no  shot  was 
fired  between  you  and  Don  Jose,  but  he  would 
not  listen.  He  asked  me  how  I  knew,  and  I 
dared  not  tell.  I  feel  so  guilty !  I  ought  not 
to  write  to  you.  Be  sure  to  address  your  letters 
to  Chapul tepee.  There  are  eyes  at  home.  Shall 
I  ever  see  you  again,  Don  Roderick  ? 

"  What  a  wretched,  dismal  letter !  At  least  I 
tell  you  the  truth,  while  you  tell  me  nothing  of 
your  hard  life.  I  saw  De  Sarnette  at  the  house 
of  the  vicomtesse.  He  showed  me  a  letter  from 
you.  In  my  letter  you  wrote  merely, '  We  struck 
an  insurgent  band  at  Saucedo  and  followed  them 
beyond  Galeana.'  But  for  him  you  have  a  story 
like  some  wild  old  epic  of  burning  huts  and 
murdered  villagers,  of  a  five  days'  running  fight, 
of  men  and  horses  dropping  exhausted,  of  food- 
less  days  and  sleepless  nights,  but  at  last, 
vengeance !  I  made  Captain  Pierron  show  me 
the  report  of  Colonel  Campos,  and  learned  that 
you  and  a  handful  more  were  all  that  saw  the 
end  of  that  wild  hunt.  Write  me  these  things. 
I  am  a  soldier's  daughter,  not  a  child  whose 
heart  cannot  share  stern  things  with  yours." 

But  he  wrote  back,  "Thank  God  you  do 
not  and  will  not  know  the  things  I've  seen  and 
done ! " 

For  six  months,  Taliaferro  took  part  with 
Campos  in  a  gigantic  game  of  hare  and  hounds 
over  half  the  empire.  But  when  the  rumor 
spread  that  France  was  to  withdraw,  the  guer- 


FAREWELL  181 

ilia  bands  became  small  armies  and  ceased  to 
be  the  hare.  One  day  in  March,  1866,  Cha- 
pultepec  was  shocked  by  the  disaster  of  Santa 
Isabel.  Three  French  companies  had  impru 
dently  attacked  Trevino's  two  thousand  men 
and  were  annihilated.  One  sole  man  had  es 
caped  alive.  Two  squadrons  of  Campos  were 
also  in  that  fight,  and  one  was  Taliaferro's. 

As  Felise  knelt  in  her  room  in  Chapul tepee 
the  night  that  news  arrived,  the  wind  moaned 
in  the  mighty  cypresses  as  though  the  heart  of 
the  world  were  breaking.  In  reality  there  was 
nothing  she  could  pray  for.  It  had  happened 
ten  days  before,  and  Trevino  killed  the  wounded. 
Roderick  was  at  that  moment  alive  or  he  was 
not  —  no  prayer  could  alter  it.  Felise  did  not 
think  of  that.  She  prayed,  she  prayed !  She 
knew  that  nothing,  no  one  in  this  world,  was 
so  precious  to  her  as  that  man  who  might  be 
lying  in  a  nameless,  desert  grave. 

After  a  night  of  mortal  fear,  a  message  came 
to  her  like  Christ's  answer  to  her  prayer. 
Roderick  had  been  captured  unwounded,  and 
had  escaped  that  night  from  a  hut  in  Santa 
Isabel. 

Captain  Taliaferro's  squadron  having  been 
destroyed,  he  was  assigned  to  the  Sixth  Cavalry 
of  the  line  at  Matamoros.  The  town  being  then 
besieged,  he  went  there  by  sea  from  Tampico. 
For  the  sake  of  a  few  thousand  pesos  the  gov 
ernment  ordered  General  Mejia  to  send  through 


182  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

a  merchants'  caravan  from  Matamoros  to  Mon 
terey.  Escorting  that  caravan,  four  hundred 
Austrian  foot  and  thirteen  hundred  Mexican 
horse,  including,  the  Sixth  Cavalry,  were  am 
bushed  by  Escobedo  on  the  hills  of  Santa 
Gertrudis.  Burning  with  thirst,  the  cavalry 
went  over  singly  and  by  squadrons  to  the  enemy 
and  water. 

When  the  wave  of  treason  swept  along  the 
lines,  one  of  Taliaferro's  corporals  spurred  for 
ward,  reversing  his  carbine  in  token  of  surrender. 
The  captain  shot  him  dead. 

"  Any  one  else  ?  "  asked  he. 

There  was  not.  The  remnant  of  the  Imperial 
force  was  surrounded ;  but,  cutting  its  way  out, 
that  squadron  saved  itself  and  General  Olvera 
from  capture.  When  they  got  back  to  Mata 
moros,  Mejia  made  Taliaferro  a  commandant. 

Since  Roderick  had  left  Felise,  the  rains  had 
ceased,  dust  deepened,  rains  returned  —  eight 
mortal  months.  But  one  day  late  in  June 
he  wrote  to  her:  "I'm  coming  back!  The 
thought  of  seeing  you  makes  me  forget  the 
blow  now  falling  upon  our  arms.  Day  after 
to-morrow,  Matamoros  surrenders  to  Canales. 
The  officers  return  by  sea  to  Vera  Cruz,  and 
thence  I  come  to  you ! 

"I  do  not  like  the  idea  of  leaving  the  men, 
but  this  pock-marked  Indian,  Major-general 
Mejia,  is  a  brave  and  loyal  soldier,  and  is  doing 
what  is  best  for  the  Empire.  If  the  French  are 


FAREWELL  183 

going,  there  must  be  new  regiments,  and  officers 
will  be  scarce.  I've  been  made  commandant, 
and  Mejia  says  I  shall  be  colonel  as  soon  as  he 
can  manage  it.  The  prospect  has  set  me  won 
dering  what  your  father  will  have  to  say  to 
Colonel  Taliaferro.  I'll  talk  to  him  in  Spanish 
this  time,  and  he  will  understand. 

"  Oh,  my  Felise  !  —  yes,  for  you  have  said  <  I 
love  you  ! '  and  no  matter  who  says  <  No,'  you 
shall  be  mine !  That  hushed  night  in  Tacubaya, 
when  your  soul  seemed  a  perfume  floating  into 
mine,  was  only  the  beginning  of  lovely  life  for 
you  and  me  !  To  this,  the  rest  of  life  is  nothing ; 
for  this,  laurels  are  sweet.  I  think  I  can  play  a 
part  in  establishing  this  Empire,  but  if  I  do,  it 
will  be  to  be  worthy  of  this ! 

"  We  sail  the  twenty-second,  two  days  more. 
Two  days  behind  this  letter,  I  reach  Mexico,  and 
there  I'll  not  <  play  bear.'  I'm  going  as  an  officer 
and  gentleman  to  Chapultepec  to  see  you. 

"  Ten  days  more,  and  then  —  Felise  !  " 


VIII 

CHAPULTEPEC 

ARRIVING  in  Mexico,  Taliaferro  left  his  things 
at  the  Iturbide,  and  ran  across  the  street  to  see 
Sarnette.  In  the  convent  he  found  a  regiment 
which  knew  not  Sarnette.  They  said  the  Twelfth 
Chasseurs  were  south  in  Oaxaca. 

Roderick  went  to  his  old  retreat  at  14,  Calle 
de  Zuleta,  but  found  it  occupied  by  a  strange 
family.  The  new  concierge  said  Seiior  Marquando 
was  living  at  Chapultepec.  Taliaferro  felt  lost. 
There  were  hours  to  kill  before  he  could  go  to 
see  Felise,  and  before  then  he  wanted  to  meet 
some  one  who  could  put  him  "  in  the  current." 

He  brightened  when  he  thought  of  the  Vicom- 
tesse  de  Saint-Castin,  called  a  cab,  and  drove  to 
Tacubaya.  He  found  the  villa  uninhabited. 
Was  nothing  the  same  ?  He  even  asked  at  his 
old  Meson  for  Perez,  and  heard  he  had  gone 
with  Gavino  to  Spain.  Commodore  Maury  was 
in  Cordoba.  Taliaferro  returned  gloomily  to  the 
Iturbide.  The  life  he  had  known  seemed  to  have 
faded  away. 

At  the  hotel,  he  met  a  martial-looking  little 
man  who  wanted  an  Imperial  commission.  It 

184 


CHAPULTEPEC  185 

was  the  Prussian  Prince  Salm-Salm.  Taliaferro 
liked  him  and  his  dashing  American  wife  ex 
tremely  well,  until  he  found  the  prince  had  been 
a  Federal  general. 

In  the  afternoon,  though  not  sure  Felise  would 
receive  him  there,  Roderick  drove  out  to  Cha- 
pultepec,  under  the  cypresses,  and  up  the  spiral 
viaduct,  around  the  royal  hill.  Passing  the  Guards 
Palatine  by  virtue  of  his  new  commandant's  uni 
form,  he  reached  the  broad,  stone  platform  which 
overlooked  the  vast  cup  of  the  valley.  He  was 
not  there  for  the  view.  He  did  not  notice  the 
new  Pompeyan  arcade,  nor  did  the  storied  win 
dows  tell  their  stories  to  his  eyes.  He  requested 
the  lackey  at  the  door  to  send  his  card  to 
Senorita  Medina. 

"  Do  you  mean  the  Countess  del  Aguilar  ? " 
asked  an  usher. 

"  No,"  replied  the  commandant,  "  I  mean  what 
I  say." 

"  Senorita  Medina  is  the  Countess  del  Aguilar," 
said  the  usher,  regarding  Taliaferro  with  suspicion. 

"  Kindly  take  her  my  card,"  said  Taliaferro, 
not  feeling  as  sure  of  his  ground  as  he  looked. 

The  card  was  taken,  but  the  commandant 
was  not  shown  beyond  the  vestibule  till  Don 
Hilario  Marquando  appeared,  greeted  his  old 
guest  warmly,  and  led  him  in  through  lofty  cor 
ridors  and  solemn  suites. 

«  How  do  you  come  to  be  living  here  ?  "  asked 
Roderick. 


186  RODERICK  TALIAFERRO 

"I'm  an  Imperial  chamberlain,"  said  Mar- 
quando,  with  a  suggestion  of  martyrdom. 

«  The  deuce  !     Do  you  like  it  ?  " 

«  No." 

«  Why  do  you  do  it  ?  " 

«  My  wife  makes  me." 

"  Your  — !  Congratulations ! "  gulped  Talia- 
ferro. 

«  Didn't  you  know  I  was  married  ?  " 

"  I  don't  know  anything,"  said  Taliaferro.  "  Is 
Senorita  Medina  the  Countess  del  Aguilar  ?  " 

"  Yes,"  said  the  young  chamberlain.  "  An  old 
vice-regal  title  from  the  days  when  we  were  a 
Spanish  colony.  Her  father  is  the  Marques  de 
Medina.  They  use  these  titles  here  at  court. 
Here  we  are." 

At  the  door  of  the  famous  Miramar  room,  Don 
Hilario  gave  Taliaferro's  name  to  a  lackey,  who 
announced  them. 

Roderick  saw  Felise,  and  hastened  toward  her, 
her  first  name  poising  on  his  lips.  She  addressed 
him  formally,  and  presented  him  to  the  Senora 
Dona  Elena  Marquando,  of  whose  presence  he  had 
failed  to  become  aware.  He  would  have  been 
glad  to  meet  Marquando's  bride  at  any  other 
time,  and  managed  to  say  he  was  then.  It  was 
not  so  that  he  had  dreamed  long  months  of 
meeting  Felise.  Was  this  ceremonious  maid  of 
honor,  to  whom  lackeys  must  announce  people, 
the  player  of  Chopin,  the  girl  of  the  moonlight 
ride? 


CHAPULTEPEC  187 

"  We  have  both  happily  changed  our  names, 
Senora  Marquando,"  said  Taliaferro,  remembering 
that  things  must  be  said,  "  since  Lieutenant 
Taillefer  met  Seiiorita  Maldonado  at  the  mar 
shal's  ball." 

"  It  is  quite  a  coincidence,"  said  the  lady,  "  and 
the  Countess  del  Aguilar  was  Felise  Medina." 

"  I'd  like  to  change  that  name,"  thought  Talia 
ferro  ;  but  said,  "  I  displayed  my  ignorance  at 
the  door  by  not  knowing  who  the  countess  was." 

"  She's  a  nice  girl,  isn't  she,  Dona  Elena  ? " 
said  Felise. 

"  I  couldn't  say  '  no '  before  the  comman 
dant." 

"  Is  that  the  best  you'll  say  for  me  ?  "  cried 
Felise.  "  Just  wait  till  some  one  asks  me  if  you're 
nice !  I'll  fib  and  say  no.  Won't  you  believe 
me,  Commandant  ?  " 

"  I  should  call  <  fib '  an  understatement,"  said 
he. 

"  I  mean  believe  I'm  nice,"  said  Felise.  "  I 
see  no  one  will  say  so.  I'm  glad  /  think  I'm 
nice,  anyway ! " 

" '  Nice '  is  another  understatement,"  said 
Roderick. 

"  That  should  pacify  you,  Countess,"  said  Don 
Hilario. 

"Like  the  insurgents,"  replied  Dona  Elena, 
"  Felise  won't  stay  pacified." 

"  Who's  beginning  hostilities  now  ? "  asked 
Felise. 


188  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

"  The  one  who  always  does,"  said  Dona  Elena's 
husband. 

Her  finger  menaced  him. 

"  You  said  different  things  about  the  Senorita 
of  the  Handkerchief,"  observed  Taliaferro. 

« The  Senora  of  the  Table-cloth  is  different," 
sighed  Marquando. 

"  Is  Sarnette  in  Oaxaca  ?  "  asked  Taliaferro, 
abruptly.  Her  chance  for  reply  cut  off,  Dona 
Elena  said  something  to  Felise. 

"  Why,  no,"  said  Marquando,  answering  Talia 
ferro. 

"  Is  he  in  town  ?  " 

"  There's  hardly  anybody  else ! "  said  Mar 
quando.  "  There  isn't  room.  He  is  Vicomte 
Sub-lieutenant  de  Sarnette  of  General  Douay's 
staff,  promoted  for  gallantry  at  Oaxaca,  rolling 
in  his  proud  uncle's  wealth,  and  rehearsing  a 
play  that  will  convulse  Mexico." 

« —  a  baby  with  real  toes  and  everything ! " 
The  words  were  audible  as  Marquando  stopped. 
"  I  was  talking  about  Madame  Bazaine's  baby," 
explained  Felise,  blushing. 

"  Do  most  babies  have  artificial  toes  ? "  in 
quired  Roderick,  adoring  the  absurd 'phrase  and 
its  maker. 

"  I  know,  but  it  is  so  wonderful ! "  said  the 
girl,  disregarding  his  amiable  irony,  and  mar 
velling  at  that  incessant  miracle  of  Nature  by 
which  each  new-come,  tiny  person  is  moulded  in 
the  ancient  pattern  of  Man. 


CHAPULTEPEC  189 

"  Felise  stole  the  baby  from  its  mother,  and 
brought  it  to  see  her  Majesty,"  said  Dona 
Elena. 

"  Her  Majesty  fell  in  love  with  him,  too,"  said 
Felise,  thinking  of  the  joy  and  the  pang  the 
baby's  visit  had  given  the  motherless  child  and 
childless  wife. 

"  The  Empress  and  her  husband  baptized  the 
child,"  said  Dona  Elena. 

"  The  countess  and  the  baby  achieved  a  result 
for  which  diplomacy  was  vainly  striving,"  said 
Marquando.  "  Till  that  visit  the  Emperor  and 
the  marshal  were  at  swords'  points." 

Looking  at  her  when  she  was  not  expecting  it, 
Roderick  had  seen  the  countess,  and  she  was  not 
the  countess,  but  Felise.  Her  soul  lowered  a 
mask;  unlike  her  lips,  her  eyes  were  calling 
him  "  thou."  She  might  as  well  have  said,  "  I 
love  thee  !  "  as  sit  and  look  like  that.  Roderick 
wondered  if  Dona  Elena  could  be  so  cruelly 
proper  as  to  give  him  no  word  with  Felise 
alone. 

« His  Majesty  the  Emperor,"  announced  the 
lackey. 

The  four  rose,  and  Maximilian  entered. 

"  I  beg  your  pardon,"  said  he,  acknowledging 
their  obeisance.  •  "  Expecting  to  find  her  Majesty, 
I  neglected  to  ask  who  was  here."  He  started 
to  withdraw. 

"  Her  Majesty  graciously  gave  us  this  room 
for  this  afternoon,"  said  the  Countess  del 


190  RODERICK  TALIAFERRO 

Aguilar.  Her  remark  had  the  effect  she 
intended,  for  Maximilian  looked  a  second  time 
at  the  visitor.  Struck  by  something  familiar  in 
Roderick's  features,  he  tried  for  an  instant  to 
place  him ;  but  the  royal  memory  failed,  and  he 
raised  his  eyebrows  slightly  to  Senora  Marquando. 

"  The  Commandant  Taliaferro,"  said  she. 

Though  fortuitous,  it  was  a  presentation  to 
his  sovereign,  and  Taliaferro  had  a  curious 
sense  of  loyalty  and  awe.  Here,  indeed,  was 
merely  a  gentleman  in  a  frock-coat  —  a  man 
with  a  worried  brow.  But  this  man  was  the 
focus  of  great  invisible  forces.  In  Washington, 
Rome,  Vienna,  Paris,  the  rulers  of  the  world 
were  exerting  their  powers  against  and  for  him. 
Mexico  centred  in  him,  perhaps  all  Latin 
America.  It  might  live  or  it  might  die,  but  at 
that  moment  there  was  in  this  man  the  seed  of 
one  Imperial,  Catholic  power  from  Texas  to 
Cape  Horn  —  a  power  to  balance  in  the  council 
of  the  world  the  arrogant  Colossus  of  the  North. 

When  Maximilian  spoke,  however,  he  seemed 
to  Taliaferro  more  like  a  private  individual. 

"  Where  have  I  seen  you  before,  Commandant  ?  " 
he  asked. 

"  In  a  bull-fight,  last  autumn,  your  Majesty." 

« Are  you  that  man  ?  You  pronounce  your 
name  Tolliver?" 

"Yes,  sire." 

"  It  has  come  to  me  through  Captain  Pierron's 
office,"  said  the  Emperor.  "  Accept  my  thanks 


CHAPULTEPEC  191 

for  good  service.  It  is  not  often  that  a  soldier 
wins  promotion  in  defeats  alone."  His  high 
brow  furrowed  with  the  thought  of  those  defeats. 

"May  I  remind  your  Majesty  that  Galeana 
was  not  a  defeat  ? "  said  Taliaferro. 

"  True,"  said  the  Emperor,  "  but  the  late  re 
verses  have  effaced  the  memory  of  Galeana, 
which  was  a  small  affair." 

"  Sire,"  said  the  countess,  "  your  soldiers  in 
that  affair  —  some  of  them  —  rode  three  hun 
dred  miles  in  five  days." 

"  You  are  well  informed,  Countess,"  said  the 
Emperor,  glancing  with  a  smile  at  Taliaferro. 

"  My  informant  was  Captain  Pierron,"  said 
the  lady,  quickly. 

The  Emperor  lowered  his  voice,  addressing 
Taliaferro.  The  Marquandos  and  Felise  talked 
to  avoid  appearance  of  listening. 

"  You  are  an  experienced  soldier,  Commandant," 
said  Maximilian.  "  I  release  you  from  your 
obligation  not  to  criticise  superiors.  Tell  me 
the  truth  about  Santa  Gertrudis  and  Matamoros. 
Did  the  generals  do  their  duty  ?  " 

"  Yes,  sire,"  said  Taliaferro,  promptly.  "  They 
did  the  best  they  could  with  their  troops  and 
their  orders.  The  low  morale  made  defeat  cer 
tain  after  the  blunder  of  detaching  the  escort  of 
the  convoy  from  the  Matamoros  garrison." 

Maximilian  winced.  "  Why  was  the  morale 
poor  ? "  he  asked,  seeking  to  find  a  cause  of 
disaster  for  which  he  himself  was  unblamable. 


192  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

"  Mejia  was  compelled  to  draw  on  Vera  Cruz  or 
levy  forced  loans,"  said  Taliaferro.  "  Sometimes 
his  drafts  were  not  honored,  sometimes  loans 
could  not  be  forced.  The  men  were  half  clad, 
half  fed,  badly  equipped,  badly  mounted,  and 
unpaid.  They  were  not  like  your  Majesty's 
Guards  Palatine."  He  glanced  at  the  rug, 
woven  in  one  piece  with  a  tapestried  picture  of 
Miramar ;  at  the  Gobelin  chairs,  the  onyx  table, 
the  Florentine  candelabra,  the  dove-colored  silk 
on  the  walls.  "  The  price  of  this  room  would 
support  a  field  regiment  six  months,"  he  said. 

"  You  do  not  mince  matters,  Commandant 
Taliaferro,"  said  the  Emperor. 

"  No,  sire,"  said  Taliaferro. 

"Being  an  American,  you  may  not  have  re 
flected  that  it  is  not  a  subject's  business  to  criti 
cise  the  household  arrangements  of  his  sovereign." 

"  Your  Majesty  invited  me  to  criticise  my 
superiors,"  said  Taliaferro,  respectful  and  fear 
less,  meeting  the  Emperor's  eye. 

"  Perhaps  your  candor  will  answer  me  this," 
said  Maximilian.  « If  the  Imperial  cause  is  so 
badly  managed,  why  do  you  espouse  it  ?  " 

"  At  first,  because  I  hated  your  Majesty's  ene 
mies,  the  Yankees,"  answered  Taliaferro,  "  and 
because  I  needed  employment.  Personal  grati 
tude  for  my  pardon  became  a  motive.  Now  the 
Imperial  cause  is  mine  for  a  simple  soldier's 
reason  —  I  have  fought  for  it." 

"  I  wish  more  soldiers  felt  so,"  said  the  Em- 


CHAPULTEPEC  193 

peror,  thinking  of  several  who  had  fought  for, 
and  then  against,  him.  "  In  itself,  do  you  not 
think  the  Imperial  cause  better  for  the  country  ?  " 
he  asked  a  little  wistfully. 

Taliaferro  contrasted  the  weakness  of  this 
self-doubter  with  the  real  master  of  men,  Robert 
Lee.  "  This  country  cannot  be  a  republic,  sire," 
replied  the  ex-Confederate.  "  Its  people  are  not 
the  self-governing  kind  —  I  mean  the  lower 
classes.  They  must  be  ruled.  As  well  your 
Majesty's  frank  Empire  as  one  with  a  Republi 
can  mask." 

"  I  see  you  avoid  saying  « better,' "  said  the 
Emperor. 

Taliaferro's  eye  roamed  to  the  onyx  table. 
"  Better  if  your  Majesty's  be  the  strongest,"  he 
said. 

The  Emperor  moved  toward  the  door.  « I 
shall  count  on  you  as  a  good  field-officer,  Com 
mandant,"  said  he,  smiling.  "  But  I  fear  we  could 
never  find  you  a  place  in  the  —  ah  —  diplomatic 
service.  You  should  read  the  part  of  Enobarbus 
in  Shakespeare's  '  Antony.'  Allow  me  to  thank 
you  again  for  your  music  last  evening,  Countess. 
The  Marquesa,  your  mother,  Senora  Marquando, 
just  told  me  you  had  persuaded  your  husband  to 
perform  the  mission  abroad.  Your  intimacy 
with  Paris,  Senor  Marquando,  will  be  of  especial 
advantage.  Her  Majesty  will  be  grateful  for 
your  service." 

"  He  can  leave  a  room  better  than  he  can  rule 


194  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

Mexico,"  thought  Taliaferro,  when  the  Emperor 
was  gone. 

« Do  you  see,  Don  Hilario  ? "  asked  Dona 
Elena. 

"  As  usual,"  said  Don  Hilario,  and  discussion 
followed. 

"  Why  didn't  you  flatter  him  a  little,  Com 
mandant  ? "  asked  Felise.  « You  positively 
scolded  him !  I  thought  I  was  so  clever  in 
having  you  presented  !  " 

Roderick  was  disappointed  in  the  Emperor, 
but  saw  that  he  might  wisely  have  taken  advan 
tage  of  his  weaknesses.  "  I  really  thought  he 
wanted  the  truth  at  first,"  he  said,  «  and  then  —  " 

«  Then  you  grew  stubborn  and  gave  it  to  him 
anyway,"  said  she.  "  With  the  interest  he 
showed  in  you,  you  might  have  risen  at  a 
bound." 

"  I'd  rather  rise  in  the  field  than  in  the  pal 
ace,"  said  he,  excusing  himself. 

"Good  for  you!"  exclaimed  Marquando. 
« I've  seen  so  many  sycophants  in  this  place, 
that  a  fearless  man's  refreshing." 

"  Are  you  really  going  abroad  ?  "  asked  Talia 
ferro. 

"  Yes,"  said  Marquando,  "  we  leave  soon  for 
Paris.  Please  don't  say  so,  however." 

"  Was  his  Majesty  here  ?  "  asked  a  voice,  out 
side —  a  woman's  voice  made  calm  only  by  will 
power. 

"  Yes,  your  Majesty,"  answered  the  lackey. 


CHAPULTEPEC  195 

"  Where  did  he  go  ?  " 

"  That  way,  your  Majesty." 

The  Empress  appeared  crossing,  or  rather 
starting  to  cross,  the  space  visible  through  the 
door.  She  stopped  as  at  some  painful  thought. 
She  looked  in. 

"Dona  Elena!"  she  called.  The  lady  of 
honor  went  to  her.  "  Did  his  Majesty  ask  for 
me  ?  "  inquired  the  Empress. 

"  He  came  in  expecting  to  find  your  Majesty 
here,"  replied  Dona  Elena,  and  "  Carlotta  "  went 
on. 

« Is  the  Empress  in  good  health  ? "  inquired 
Taliaferro. 

"  Why,  yes,"  said  Marquando.  "  Did  she  not 
give  you  that  impression  ?  " 

«  Does  she  always  have  that  —  what  shall  I 
call  it  —  suppressed  nervousness  ?  " 

"  The  fact  is,"  said  Marquando,  "  an  important 
step  has  been  decided  upon.  A  great  deal  de 
pends  on  her  Majesty." 

"  Are  you  going  to  be  in  the  city  long,  Com 
mandant  ? "  inquired  Dona  Elena,  concealing 
skilfully  enough  by  her  manner  her  fear  that 
Don  Hilario  was  going  to  be  indiscreet. 

"  I  think  not,"  replied  Roderick.  « I  want 
active  service,  and  there's  all  too  much  of  it  at 
present.  I  shall  probably  be  assigned  to  a  regi 
ment  at  once." 

"  After  eight  months  of  fighting  !  "  exclaimed 
Felise,  her  role  of  polite  acquaintanceship  with- 


196  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

ering  like  paper  in  the  fire.  "  If  you  knew  how 
I  suffered  after  Santa  Isabel ! " 

Seeming  to  find  something  amiably  amusing 
in  the  aspect  of  Popocatepetl,  Marquando  called 
Dona  Elena  to  the  window. 

«  Felise  ! "  breathed  Roderick.  Her  name 
upon  his  lips  created  in  their  mood  a  change 
such  as  is  wrought  by  unexpected  music.  She 
drew  him  like  a  magnet.  "  Am  I  to  talk  only 
with  the  Countess  del  Aguilar,  and  never  with 
Felise  ?  Where  shall  I  see  you  ?  " 

"  I  do  not  know,"  she  said,  «  except  here,  like 
this.  I  feel  guilty,  even  about  this." 

"  Where  is  the  Vicomtesse  de  Saint-Castin  ?  " 

"  She  has  given  up  her  villa,"  said  Felise. 
"  She  has  a  house  in  San  Cosine"." 

"  Tell  me  when  you  will  be  there,"  commanded 
he. 

"  We  can't  meet  there,"  she  said.  "  The  house 
is  full  of  people.  They  are  rehearsing  the  Vi- 
comte  de  Sarnette's  new  play." 

"But  where,  Felise  —  where,  then?" 

"  Oh,  I  cannot,  Don  Roderick,  I  cannot  dis 
obey  my  father  nor  forget  your  hatred  of  the 
Holy  Church  !  Many  a  time  I  have  told  myself 
I  would  not  write  again  or  ever  see  you,  and 
then  a  battle  — !  I  ought  not  to  let  you  come 
here  again.  What  if  my  father  should  find  out!" 

"  I  intend  that  he  shall,"  said  Roderick. 

"  Oh,  anything,  anything  rather  than  that !  " 
exclaimed  the  girl. 


CHAPULTEPEC  197 

"  Felise,"  said  he,  solemnly,  "  have  you  forgot 
ten  what  you  said  to  me  in  Tacubaya  ?  " 

She  was  silent. 

"  Have  you  ?  Felise !  you  can't  have  for 
gotten  !  " 

She  started  to  speak,  but  the  lackey  entered, 
and  her  words  were  cut  by  a  name  that  dazed 
her  like  a  blow,  turned  her  skin  cold,  and  for  an 
instant  stopped  her  heart  with  fear. 

"The  Marques  de  Medina,"  said  the  lackey, 
and  through  the  doorway  came  her  father. 

At  his  daughter's  gasp  of  terror,  Don  Miguel 
hastened  toward  her,  demanding  what  was  wrong. 
With  amazement,  he  recognized  Taliaferro. 

"  You,  sir !  "  he  exclaimed.     "  Here  ?  " 

"  Yes,  sir,"  said  Taliaferro,  quiet,  but  bracing 
himself  for  the  sudden  crisis. 

"The  carriage  is  below,  Felise,"  said  Don 
Miguel,  his  voice  trembling.  «  You  will  go  home 
with  me  at  once.  Senor  and  Senora  Marquando, 
I  am  not  grateful  to  you  for  this  !  " 

"  I  alone  am  responsible  for  it,"  said  Taliaferro. 
"  I  have  intended  to  talk  with  you,  Seiior  Medina, 
and  with  your  leave  will  do  it  now." 

"  I  don't  wish  to  talk  to  you,  sir ! " 

"  I  have  a  right  to  be  heard  by  you ! "  said 
Taliaferro. 

"  We  will  withdraw,"  said  Marquando,  beckon 
ing  Dona  Elena  and  moving  toward  the  door. 

"  What  right  have  you  ? "  demanded  Don 
Miguel  of  Taliaferro. 


198  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

"  If  you  have  anything  to  say  to  me,  Senor 
Medina,"  said  Marquando,  "you  may  do  so  as 
you  go  out." 

"  We  are  going  now,"  said  Don  Miguel. 
«  Come  !  "  he  said  to  Felise. 

The  Marquandos  went  out. 

"  I  cannot  go  down  to  the  carriage  like  this," 
said  Felise,  feeling  that  things  could  not  now  be 
worse,  and  might  be  better  if  Roderick  talked  to 
her  father.  "  I  must  go  to  my  room  first."  She 
turned  toward  the  door.  "  Dona  Elena ! "  she 
called.  "  Wait,  I  will  go  with  you." 

«  Be  quick  ! "  said  Don  Miguel,  following  her. 
« I  will  wait  below." 

"  Good  afternoon,  Felise,"  said  Roderick,  with 
quiet  emphasis  upon  her  name. 

"What!"  exclaimed  Don  Miguel,  stopping  short. 

In  the  doorway  Felise  also  stopped,  frightened 
anew  by  that  form  of  address  used  only  by 
acknowledged  lovers.  She  stood  in  silence,  look 
ing  back  at  the  two  men.  Her  father  turned 
from  Taliaferro  to  her.  She  looked  at  Roderick, 
who  stood  with  rigid  muscles,  set  lips,  and  eyes 
upon  her  soul. 

"  What  will  she  say,  what  will  she  say  ? " 
thought  he,  with  passionate  force.  "  If  '  Senor 
Taliaferro,'  all's  lost ! "  He  saw  the  perception 
of  what  he  wanted  strike  her,  but  her  eyes 
turned  desperately  to  her  father.  "  Lost ! " 
thought  Roderick ;  but  the  dear,  troubled  eyes 
came  back. 


CHAPULTEPEO  199 

"Good  afternoon,  Don  Roderick,"  she  said, 
and  disappeared. 

"  Bless  her  !  "  thought  he,  giving  his  lungs  the 
luxury  of  a  big,  comfortable  breath.  "  Have  I  the 
right  to  speak  to  you,  Senor  Medina  ?  "  he  asked. 

"  No  right  under  Heaven ! "  exclaimed  Don 
Miguel,  striding  back  into  the  room.  "  What 
right  have  you  to  possess  yourself  of  my  daugh 
ter's  affections  ?  " 

"  What  right  have  you  to  try  to  stop  me  — 
if  she  likes  it  ?  "  asked  he,  pleasantly. 

This  was  so  different  from  the  patriarchal  code 
of  Don  Miguel  that  it  dazed  him. 

"  I'm  willing  to  hear  your  argument,"  said 
Taliaferro,  condescendingly. 

«  Understand  that  when  you  are  dealing  with 
civilized  people,  sir,  you  must  abide  by  their 
customs.  The  ladies  of  my  family  do  not  marry 
without  the  consent  of  their  parents  !  " 

"  That  is  a  point  wherein  civilizations  differ," 
said  Taliaferro.  "  The  men  of  my  family  marry 
without  the  consent  of  anybody's  parents." 

"  Then  marry  some  one  who  accepts  that  code 
of  social  anarchy  !  " 

«  Your  description  is  inexact,"  said  Taliaferro. 
"  It  is  the  code  of  individual  freedom.  I  hope, 
Senor  Medina,  that  you  can  look  at  it  coolly, 
and  realize  that  perhaps  it  will  not  be  so  bad 
as  you  suppose.  Otherwise,  you  are  going  to 
cause  needless  trouble,  and  make  Felise  miserable 
for  nothing." 


200  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

"  Undeceive  yourself,  sir.  Felise  Medina  is  not 
going  to  break  every  social  and  sacred  law  of  her 
family  and  people  for  you  !  If  I  had  nothing  to 
do  with  it,  she  would  decline  of  her  own  free 
will  to  marry  an  unknown  foreign  heretic ! " 

"  I  will  not  affirm  the  contrary,"  said  Roderick  ; 
"  but  why  don't  you  give  her  the  chance  ?  " 

"  Because  I  stand  before  God  and  her  sainted 
mother,  charged  with  the  duty  to  counsel  and 
restrain  the  rashness  of  her  youth  ! " 

"  I  am  glad  to  feel  that  you  are  at  least  sincere," 
said  Taliaferro.  "  I  see  how,  from  your  point  of 
view,  you  can  believe  it  your  duty  to  treat  your 
daughter  otherwise  than  as  a  being  with  an  inde 
pendent  soul.  But  the  stars  in  their  courses 
fight  against  you.  Your  daughter  is  not,  as  you 
imagine,  a  part  of  you.  She  is  herself.  She  is 
stronger  than  you  think  —  didn't  you  see  it  a 
moment  ago  ?  In  the  end  her  heart  will  burst 
your  fetters.  I  say  it  humbly  and  gratefully  — 
freedom  will  bring  her  to  me." 

"  Never  !  "  said  Don  Miguel.  "  No  doubt  you 
are  capable  of  attempting  to  pull  down  her 
religion  and  her  soul  in  order  to  possess  yourself 
of  the  ruins,  but,  God  be  thanked,  they  are  built 
upon  the  Church  as  on  the  rock !  And  this  is 
sure  —  you  shall  not  have  the  chance  !  " 

"  There  will  be  no  pulling  down,"  said  Roderick. 
"  I  do  not  deny  that  to  me  the  light  of  the  dying 
Church,  compared  with  the  light  now  breaking 
out  of  Nature  upon  the  mind  of  man,  is  as  a 


CHAPULTEPEC  201 

candle  to  the  sunrise.  But  Felise  still  loves  her 
candle's  light,  and  I  shall  never  blow  it  out. 
Some  day,  perhaps,  she  will  herself  look  up  and 
see  the  sun." 

«  Christ  forbid  !  "  cried  Don  Miguel.  "  God 
makes  denial  of  Himself  hideous  to  true  souls ; 
but  hell  gifts  you  with  power  to  clothe  your 
blasphemy  in  beauty.  Rather  than  see  my 
daughter's  soul  poisoned  like  yours  and  doomed 
to  everlasting  fire,  I'd  see  her  dead  !  " 

"  Take  care  !  "  cried  Taliaferro.  "  Check  that 
insanity  here,  or  this  thing's  tragedy ! " 

"  You  simply  will  not  see  Felise  again,"  said 
Don  Miguel.  "  Should  you  ever  seek  dispensation 
in  this  Empire  to  wed  a  daughter  of  the  Church, 
you  will  find  that  the  Archbishop  of  Mexico 
knows  you  and  what  you  are."  Don  Miguel 
moved  majestically  toward  the  door.  "  Good 
afternoon,  sir,"  said  he. 

"  Good  afternoon,"  said  Taliaferro.  "  In  spite 
of  you,  Senor  Medina,  I  mean  to  win  Felise." 


IX 

THE    EMPRESS    CHARLOTTE 

To  his  surprise,  Roderick  learned  next  day 
that  Felise  had  returned  to  Chapultepec.  He 
went  there,  and  was  respectfully  admitted,  but 
the  Countess  del  Aguilar  sent  word  that  she 
could  not  receive  the  Commandant  Taliaferro. 
He  was  convinced  that  her  refusal  was  against 
her  will,  and  sent  a  note.  She  did  not  answer 
it.  He  believed  she  had  not  received  it. 

The  next  day  was  Friday,  July  6,  the  Em 
peror's  birthday.  The  court  was  to  attend  the 
Te  Deum  in  the  Cathedral.  There  were  thou 
sands  in  the  church.  When  the  Imperial  party 
entered,  the  people  fell  back,  making  a  lane  for 
its  passage  to  the  reserved  space  near  the  altar. 
The  Emperor  himself  was  not  there,  being  indis 
posed.  The  Empress  represented  him. 

Roderick  gained  a  place  near  the  court  where 
he  could  see  Felise.  At  last  he  caught  her  eye. 
She  started  slightly,  but  looked  away  quickly, 
gave  no  sign  of  recognition,  and,  during  the  ser 
vice,  kept  her  head  turned  from  him.  He  was 
surprised  and  hurt. 

Important  personages  were  waiting  after  the 
service  to  pay  their  respects  to  the  Empress 

202 


THE   EMPRESS    CHARLOTTE  203 

Charlotte,  but  she  remained  with  bowed  head, 
kneeling  where  she  had  knelt  three  years  before, 
when  booming  cannon  and  rejoicing  bells  pro 
claimed  the  Imperial  advent  in  Mexico. 

Every  one's  attention  was  upon  the  Empress, 
wondering  why  she  did  not  rise.  Then  Felise 
looked  at  Roderick,  and  he  saw  her  lips  distinctly 
form  three  words. 

"  What  ?  "  asked  his  lips,  but  she  turned  her 
head  with  visible  disappointment  at  his  failure 
to  understand. 

The  Marquesa  de  Guadeloupe  said  something 
in  a  low  voice  to  the  Empress.  Her  Majesty 
raised  her  head,  and,  to  the  astonishment  of 
those  about  her,  her  cheeks  were  wet  with  tears. 
"  Courage,  your  Majesty  !  "  whispered  the  mar- 
quesa.  The  Empress  rose,  collected  herself,  and 
with  queenly  bearing  received  the  good  wishes 
of  the  dignitaries  —  thanking  them  "  in  the  name 
of  that  Prince  who  has  consecrated  to  this  people 
his  whole  existence." 

As  her  Majesty  spoke,  Felise  turned  her  face 
once  more  toward  Roderick,  and  this  time,  ex 
pecting  that  silent  message,  he  caught  the  words, 
"  Puebla,  Monday  night." 

Amid  its  hills,  Puebla  de  los  Angeles  lay  dark 
beneath  the  dying  fires  of  sunset.  On  the  sky 
line  rose  the  black  bastions  of  forts  Loreto  and 
Guadeloupe.  The  first  stars  shone  pale  above  the 
Cathedral  towers. 


204  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

In  the  villa  palace  of  the  Marquesa  de  Guade 
loupe  lay  the  Empress  Charlotte,  exhausted  by  a 
journey  which  had  begun  in  the  capital  at  four 
that  morning.  Upon  her  arrival  in  Puebla,  she 
had  dismissed  abruptly  the  Prefect  Estava,  who 
came  to  pay  his  respects  in  the  name  of  the  city. 
Taking  only  a  cup  of  tea,  she  went  to  her  rooms, 
ordering  her  ladies  to  go  to  supper  and  let  her 
alone.  They  obeyed,  amazed  at  the  actions  of 
the  royal  lady,  who,  in  the  three  years  they  had 
known  her,  had  never  been  guilty  of  an  unkind 
act  or  a  discourteous  word. 

It  was  a  sombre  party  at  supper  with  the 
marquesa,  the  Empress  lying  alone  upstairs. 
The  marquesa  had  come  from  Mexico  solely  to 
entertain  the  royal  lady  that  one  night  in  Puebla. 
She  tried  to  conceal  her  disappointment.  Her 
young  friend,  the  Countess  del  Aguilar,  who  had 
come  to  assist  her,  wras  of  no  use,  being  strangely 
preoccupied.  She  had  been  compelled  to  let  her 
aunt,  Senora  Dona  Casilda  Prado,  come  with  her 
to  Puebla.  The  marquesa's  daughter,  Dona  Elena 
Marquando,  was  put  out  because  her  husband, 
Don  Hilario,  had  insisted  on  dining  in  the  city. 
"  With  a  friend,"  he  said,  —  "a  good-by  supper." 
But  he  would  not  tell  who  the  friend  was,  and 
Dona  Elena  did  not  see  what  man  it  could  be. 
Felise  had  an  idea  as  to  who  it  was,  but  kept 
her  surmise  to  herself. 

Upon  the  whole  party  weighed  the  fact,  till 
that  day  carefully  concealed,  that  the  Empress 


THE   EMPRESS   CHARLOTTE  205 

was  going  abroad,  and  the  unspoken  fear  that  if 
she  failed  to  persuade  Napoleon  to  leave  his 
troops  in  Mexico,  Maximilian  would  abdicate 
and  follow  her  across  the  sea. 

"  By  this  time  every  one  knows  we've  gone," 
said  Senora  del  Bario. 

« And  where  we're  going,"  added  Senora 
Pacheco. 

"  What  was  the  use  of  all  that  secrecy  ? " 
inquired  Dona  Casilda,  who  was  charmed  with 
the  chance  to  join  a  party  so  near  the  throne. 

"  Its  motive  was  based  on  a  peculiarity  of 
human  nature,"  said  Martin  Castillo,  Minister  of 
Foreign  Affairs.  "The  accomplished  fact  that 
the  Empress  has  gone  will  cause  less  uneasi 
ness  and  give  rise  to  fewer  false  apprehensions 
than  a  mere  announcement  of  her  intention  to 
go." 

"  Unless  people  ask  why  she  should  slip  away 
as  we  did,"  said  the  Grand  Chamberlain  Count 
del  Valle,  Velasquez  de  Leon,  thinking  of  the 
imposing  ceremonies  that  might  have  been  ar 
ranged. 

"  The  general  public  will  hear  no  details,"  said 
Castillo. 

"I  think  it  was  all  very  skilfully  managed," 
said  the  marquesa,  cheerfully. 

"  It  was  a  mistake  not  to  hold  the  rest  of  the 
court  together  at  Chapultepec,"  said  the  Cham 
berlain  Neri  del  Bario.  "  I  pointed  out  to  his 
Majesty  that  it  would  look  like  the  beginning 


206  RODERICK    TALIAFERRO 

of  a  permanent  break-up,  but  he  paid  no  at 
tention." 

"  It  is  essential  to  reduce  expenses,"  said 
Castillo.  "  Our  party  cannot  afford  to  be  nig 
gardly  in  Paris." 

"  Dare  we  make  a  display  of  wealth  to  Napo 
leon,  when  we  are  always  telling  him  how  poor 
we  are  ?  "  asked  Dona  Elena. 

"  Paris  must  know  that  it  receives  an  Empress," 
said  Velasquez  de  Leon. 

"  Doubtless  that  is  the  purpose  of  the  retinue 
in  national  costume,"  said  the  marquesa. 

"Precisely,"  said  the  grand  chamberlain.  "It 
will  appeal  to  Paris  as  distinctive." 

"  I  remember  how  pleased  her  Majesty  was  on 
her  birthday  three  years  ago,"  said  the  marquesa. 
"  She  was  just  coming  from  Vera  Cruz,  and  her 
first  impression  of  Puebla  was  the  sight  of  a 
great  procession  of  peons  coming  to  meet  her  and 
waving  green  boughs  of  welcome." 

"  A  charming  thing  about  that,"  said  the  Count 
de  Bombelles,  "  was  the  peons'  belief  that  his 
Majesty,  with  his  blue  eyes  and  sunny  beard,  was 
the  god,  Quetzalcoatl,  come  over  sea  once  more  to 
fulfil  the  ancient  prophecy  and  deliver  their  race 
from  evil." 

"  How  different  things  were  then ! "  sighed 
Senora  Prado,  assassinating  the  conversation. 

"  The  Countess  del  Aguilar  looks  mortified," 
said  Senora  Pacheco  to  Dona  Elena. 

"  Did  the  Empress  tell  you  we  would  not  go 


THE   EMPRESS   CHARLOTTE  207 

on  to-morrow,  Senora  del  Bario  ?  "  asked  Dona 
Elena,  when  the  ladies  left  the  men  to  talk  Paris 
over  their  cognac  and  cigars. 

"  Yes,"  replied  Senora  del  Bario.  "  I  cannot 
understand  it.  She  told  the  marquesa  we  would 
go  on.  There  is  something  strange  about  her 
Majesty  of  late.  Were  you  there  when  she  dis 
missed  the  Prefect  Estava  ?  " 

"  Her  Majesty  is  very  tired  to-night,"  said  the 
marquesa. 

"  There  ^something  strange,  though,"  said  Dona 
Elena.  "  This  morning,  when  I  asked  her  what 
gown,  she  said  a  robe  of  ceremony  and  her  crown  ! 
'  For  the  journey  ! '  I  exclaimed.  She  looked  at 
me  a  moment,  and  said,  <  Ah,  for  the  journey  ? 
Yes,  I  will  wear  gray.  I  was  thinking  of  the 
Tuileries.' " 

"  A  little  absent-mindedness,  daughter  Elena," 
said  the  marquesa. 

"  But  she  never  was  absent-minded,  my  mother ! " 

"  Did  you  see  her  ignore  the  salute  of  the  French 
Cavalry  at  Ayotla  ?  "  asked  Senora  del  Bario. 

"  The  tricolor  seemed  absolutely  repugnant  to 
her,"  said  Dona  Elena. 

"  To  think  she  should  not  conceal  it ! "  cried 
Senora  Prado. 

"  Remember  the  strain  she  is  under,"  said  the 
marquesa.  "  The  throne  may  depend  on  the  suc 
cess  of  her  mission.  It  has  been  a  hard  day  for 
all  of  us,"  she  added,  trying  to  turn  the  talk. 
"  Don't  you  think  so,  Countess  ?  " 


208  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

"  I  beg  pardon,  Marquesa,"  said  Felise,  com 
ing  in  confusion  out  of  her  own  thoughts. 
"  Oh,  yes,  Marquesa,"  she  said,  the  question 
being  repeated.  "  I  hope  you  can  induce  her 
Majesty  to  rest  to-morrow  in  this  lovely  place 
of  yours." 

"  Do  you,  Felise,  think  her  Majesty  quite  her 
self  ?  "  asked  Dona  Elena. 

"  My  heart  bled  for  her  to-day  at  Ayotla  when 
her  husband  rode  away,"  replied  Felise.  "  Think 
of  her  alone  in  her  room  there.  Too  highly  placed 
to  have  an  equal  friend,  too  proud  to  tell  a  grief 
—  oh,  that  is  it  —  to  suffer  and  suffer  and  make 
no  sign  —  not  to  tell  any  one.  I  hate  the  Emperor 
for  not  loving  her  !  " 

"  Countess  !  "  exclaimed  Sefiora  del  Bario. 

"  Felise  !  "  cried  Senora  Prado. 

"  He  does  love  her,"  said  the  marquesa. 

"Then  why  does  he  hold  her  away  from  him, 
why  is  he  jealous  of  the  people's  love  of  her,  why 
does  he  shut  her  out  of  his  heart,  and  make  her 
lonelier  than  God  ?  " 

"  How  strangely  you  talk  to-night,  Felise !  " 
said  Dona  Elena. 

"  /  was  never  taught  that  God  is  lonely,"  said 
Seiiora  del  Bario. 

"  I  suppose  that  is  one  of  your  new  Liberal 
doctrines,"  said  Dona  Casilda. 

Felise  turned  abruptly  and  left  the  room. 

"  I  believe  she  is  going  to  cry,"  said  Dona 
Elena. 


THE   EMPRESS   CHARLOTTE  209 

"  The  saints  preserve  us ! "  exclaimed  Senora 
del  Bario.  "  Is  she  getting  queer,  too  ?  " 

"  It  is  that  love-affair  of  hers,"  said  Dona 
Casilda.  "  She  shall  not  go  outside  there  alone." 
The  seriora  started  toward  the  corridor. 

"  Let  me  go,  Seriora  Prado,"  said  the  marquesa. 
"  I  wish  to  see  her,  anyway."  The  marquesa 
hastened  out.  "  Felise  !  "  she  called. 

Felise  hesitated  in  the  outer  door. 

"  What  is  wrong  to-night,  dear  ? "  asked  the 
marquesa,  overtaking  her. 

"  Nothing,  Marquesa.  Let  me  go.  I  want  to 
be  by  myself." 

"  To  cry,  dear  ?  "  asked  the  marquesa,  gently. 

The  question  brought  the  threatened  tears,  and 
Felise  fled  from  the  lighted  portico  to  the  shelter 
ing  night.  The  marquesa  followed.  Rhomboids 
of  light  from  lower  windows  fell  on  tropic  shrub 
bery  ;  alow  wind  stirred  the  curtains  of  dark  rooms 
upstairs.  Torches  at  the  foot  of  the  hill  revealed 
the  gates  of  the  grounds  and  crimson  tunics  of 
her  Majesty's  dragoons.  The  marquesa  found 
Felise,  her  arms  pillowing  her  face  upon  an  old 
stone  seat. 

"  Can't  you  tell  me  all  about  it,  dear  Felise  ?  " 
she  asked,  although  she  knew  well  what  it  was. 

Felise  shook  her  head. 

"  You  remind  me  of  your  mother,  dear,  some 
times,"  said  the  marquesa,  caressing  the  girl's 
hair. 

"  Oh,  what  would  she  do,  Dona  Sofia,  what 


210  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

would  she  say  to  me  now  ! "  exclaimed  Felise, 
unable  to  resist  the  mother-love  in  the  marquesa's 
heart. 

But  though  the  good  marquesa  spoke  with  pity 
and  love,  she  said,  "  Obey  !  " 

"  Listen,  Marquesa,"  said  Felise.  "  I  think  — 
I  hope  the  Commandant  Taliaferro  is  in  Puebla 
to-night,  and  if  he  comes,  I  am  going  to  see 
him." 

"  After  what  your  father  said,  Felise  ?  " 

"  I  must,  I  will.  I  dare  not  give  him  hope. 
I  cannot  see  him,  if  I  would,  when  I  go  home, 
but  once  —  this  once — to  say  good-by  —  oh,  God, 
oh,  God,  if  he  were  only  of  thy  faith  !  " 

"  I  fear  you  would  not  say  good-by,  Felise," 
said  the  marquesa.  "  If  I  permitted  you  to  see 
him,  I  should  mortally  offend  your  father." 

"  I  tell  you,  Marquesa,  I  will  see  him  ! "  cried 
Felise.  "  I  will  see  him  here  if  you  trust  me  and 
leave  us.  If  not,  he  will  come  in,  and  I  will 
see  him  there.  My  aunt  will  see  us  together  and 
tell  my  father.  He  will  be  terrible,  but  I  will 
see  Don  Roderick  to-night ! " 

The  marquesa  sighed  and  shook  her  head.  Be 
tween  tree  trunks  two  little  towers  at  the  gate 
were  visible.  Two  men  stopped  in  the  light  of 
the  flambeaus,  spoke  to  the  saluting  guards,  and 
came  on  in.  Felise  shivered  with  excitement. 

"  The  air  is  growing  chilly,  dear,"  said  the 
marquesa.  "  You  must  tell  Pepita  to  fetch  your 
things.  No,  your  poor  eyes  are  red  —  wait  here  ; 


THE   EMPRESS   CHARLOTTE  211 

I'll  tell  Pepita."  With  vanquished  conscience 
the  good  lady  went  in. 

The  girl  was  alone  on  t  the  wide,  stone  seat, 
beneath  banana  leaves  that  swayed  in  the  night 
wind  like  the  ears  of  elephants.  A  moan,  as  of 
broken  sleep,  came  from  the  window  of  the 
Empress,  but  Felise  did  not  hear  it.  She  was 
watching  a  little  point  glowing  in  the  darkness 
between  her  and  the  gate.  It  appeared  and  dis 
appeared —  it  came  nearer.  It  was  somebody's 
cigar.  I^ow  it  described  an  energetic  curve, 
marking  a  gesture ;  and  when  not  far  off  it 
brightened,  and,  for  an  instant,  revealed  beneath 
his  kepi  the  features  of  Taliaferro. 

«  Commandant !  "  called  Felise,  not  loudly. 

The  glowing  point  struck  the  ground  in  sparks, 
and  Don  Hilario  Marquando,  who,  having  dined 
with  Taliaferro,  was  guiding  him  to  the  villa, 
found  himself  alone.  The  darkness  concealed 
his  astonishment,  and  he  went  discreetly  on  into 
the  house. 

To  Roderick  the  world  grew  one  impassioned 
thought.  The  shadowed  earth,  the  white  spears 
of  the  stars,  the  broad  leaves  swaying  above  her 
like  gigantic,  lazy  ears,  were  but  accompaniment 
to  the  song  which  was  Felise.  He  saw  her  eyes 
of  velvet  night ;  he  spoke  her  name. 

"It  is  delicious  to  find  you  here  like  this,"  he 
said.  Stars  give  so  little  light,  he  came  quite 
close. 

"  It  is  the  last  time,  Don  Roderick." 


212  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

«  Nonsense,"  said  he. 

"  I  told  the  Marquesa  de  Guadeloupe  I  would 
see  you  to-night  —  to  say  good-by  forever." 

"You  mustn't  tell  fibs,  little  girl,"  said  he, 
capturing  her  hands.  His  soul  was  lyrical,  but 
all  she  saw  was  his  superior  man's  smile,  and  all 
she  heard  was  "Little  girls  mustn't  tell  fibs!" 

"  How  shall  I  make  you  feel  that  this  is 
deadly  earnest!"  exclaimed  she. 

"  The  horses  are  running  away  again,"  said  he. 

"  Listen  to  me,  Don  Roderick !  I  cannot  see 
you  again  if  I  would.  I  am  watched,  every 
where.  My  aunt,  Dona  Casilda,  came  even  here ; 
she  is  in  the  house.  The  notes  I  write,  the  notes 
I  receive,  are  seen.  If  my  father  finds  I  have 
met  you  again,  he  will  send  me  to  Santa  Teresa 
in  Queretaro." 

«  Santa  Teresa  ?  "  said  he.     «  What's  that  ?  " 

"  The  convent." 

"  It  is  infamous  tyranny ! "  cried  he.  "  Break 
these  shackles !  Go  with  me !  Come  with  me 
now  !  In  an  hour  you  will  be  mine  forever ! " 

"I  cannot  do  it,  Don  Roderick,  not  to-night, 
not  ever !  I  cannot  marry  you.  It  breaks  my 
heart,  but  it  is  better  for  us  not  to  meet  at  all ! " 

"  Why  can't  you  marry  me  ?  " 

"It  would  mean  the  sacrifice  of  all  I  hold 
dear  in  life  —  not  only  the  will  of  my  father, 
but  the  will  of  God." 

"  Do  you  love  me,  Felise  ?  " 

"Yes.     And  yet  —  " 


THE   EMPRESS   CHARLOTTE  213 

"  What  can  have  weight  beside  that  one  es 
sential,  overpowering  fact  —  you  love  me!  That 
day,  in  your  father's  presence,  I  gave  you  the 
chance  to  choose  between  us  two  —  the  old  life 
and  the  new.  I  thought  you  had  chosen  ! " 

"It  would  have  been  so  cowardly  to  save 
myself  there  at  your  expense ! " 

"  Do  you  mean  to  say  that  you  submit  to  this, 
Felise?  Don't  you  know  your  father  has  no 
right  to  interfere  in  what  your  own  heart  only 
must  decide?" 

"Oh,  my  beloved,  don't  you  know  our  own 
souls  sunder  us?  Not  in  blame,  but  in  sorrow, 
I  say  it  —  you  not  only  disbelieve,  you  hate  the 
Church.  You  have  not  dreamed  what  it  -is  to 
me !  God  give  me  words  to  make  you  know. 
Christ's  love  is  to  me  —  like  music  is  to  you. 
It  wakes  the  same  sudden  splendors,  inner 
glories,  filling  my  heart  with  worship  and  awe 
and  joy !  To  me  the  Church  is  the  shadow  of 
Heaven  on  earth;  the  earthly  cup  that  holds 
Christ's  love;  the  great  beautiful  home  of  my 
soul,  sacred  with  my  sweet  mother's  memory, 
and  bright  with  hope  of  meeting  her  beyond  the 
grave.  I  have  never  spoken  so  to  another  soul, 
but  I  tell  you  to  make  you  feel,  hoping  you'll 
understand  ;  and  oh,  don't  you,  won't  you,  see 
how  beautiful  it  is  ?  " 

"  Yes,"  said  he,  profoundly  moved,  "  I  see  that 
it  is  beautiful  to  you."  He  went  on  as  though 
he  were  not  answering,  but  dreamily  telling  a 


214  RODERICK  TALIAFERRO 

story.  "When  I  was  a  child,"  he  said,  "in  that 
old  other  life  that's  dead,  they  used  to  tell  me 
Santa  Glaus  —  that's  San  Nicolas  —  came  driv 
ing  reindeer  through  the  sky  on  Christmas  eve. 
He  always  brought  me  and  my  brother  a  little 
pine  tree  lit  with  candles  and  hung  with  every 
thing  boys  want  —  as  though  the  good  saint's 
tree  had  borne  such  fruit." 

"  And  did  the  tree  really  come  ?  "  cried  she. 

"  Oh,  dear,  bewildering  woman-child ! "  he 
said,  "would  you  believe  it  still  —  the  dear  old 
loving  lie?  Would  you  hang  up  your  stocking 
still  ?  My  father  brought  the  tree,  and  not  San 
Nicolas ! " 

"  I  would  have  known,"  said  she,  a  little  crest 
fallen,  "if  I  had  stopped  to  think.  Only,  for  a 
moment,  —  it  would  have  been  so  beautiful  if  it 
were  true ! "  she  sighed. 

"So  beautiful  —  if  true  "  He  spoke  weightily, 
and  she  saw  what  he  meant.  "  I  grieved  for  my 
San  Nicolas,"  he  said,  "the  day  I  learned  he 
wasn't  true.  But  now  the  truth  itself  has 
grown  more  beautiful  —  the  knowledge  that 
my  own  dear  mother's  hands  prepared  those 
gifts  and  lit  those  candles.  Oh,  dear  Felise,  it 
is  even  so  with  that  other  faith,  born  in  the 
childhood  of  mankind  —  your  tender  and  pa 
thetic  faith  in  a  great  Father  who  made  the 
world  with  hands,  and  whose  loving  fingers, 
as  you  think,  still  trace  the  courses  of  our 
lives.  To  me  He  is  the  grown-up  folks'  San 


THE   EMPRESS   CHARLOTTE  215 

Nicolas,  Felise.  Not  He,  but  mother  Nature, 
brings  and  loads  and  lights  our  tree.  To  me 
this,  too,  is  beautiful  —  though  true." 

"  No,  not  that !  "  exclaimed  Felise.  «  For  an 
instant,  then,  I  saw  what  you  mean  —  you 
frighten  me,  Don  Roderick!" 

"I  wouldn't  spoil  your  Santa  Glaus  for  you, 
little  girl,"  he  said  tenderly.  "I  only  want  you 
to  see  that  my  belief  is  beautiful  and  right  for 
me." 

"  Do  you  know  what  my  father  said  of  you  ?  " 
asked  she. 

«  Something  flattering  ?  "  asked  he. 

"  His  words  are  burned  upon  my  mind,"  said 
she,  ignoring  the  irony.  "  <  From  the  garment  of 
poetic  Nature-worship,'  "  she  quoted,  "  <  in  which 
his  denial  of  religion  is  robed,  protrudes  the 
cloven  hoof.' " 

"Tell  me,  Felise,"  said  he,  his  voice  hardening 
for  a  moment,  "  are  you  going  to  let  your  father's 
idea  that  I  am  inspired  by  Satan  poison  your 
mind  against  me?  Shall  this  bitter  old  unreal 
debate  divide  our  hearts?  Believe  your  heart, 
Felise  —  believe  your  own  true  woman's  heart. 
What  does  it  say  alone  with  me  —  here  in  the 
wise,  unarguing  night?  I  know.  Though  the 
words  of  your  lips  denied  it,  I  would  know  by 
your  eyes,  your  hands,  the  tones  of  your  voice. 
They  are  all  sweet  traitors  to  your  will  —  they 
are  all  mine!  I  draw  you  —  with  how  little 
muscle  —  yet  with  a  force  you  can't  resist!  I'm 


216  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

going  to  kiss  you  now,  and  you  are  going  to  let 
me." 

Her  head  sank  back,  as  though  languid  with 
the  fragrant  weight  of  its  coiled  hair.  "  It  is 
our  good-by  kiss,"  she  said  —  "the  very  last!" 

He  saw  the  oval  of  her  upturned  face,  her 
eyes  half  veiled,  her  yielded,  rose-leaf  lips.  "  I 
won't  kiss  you,"  he  declared,  drawing  her  close, 
"  unless  you  say  it's  not  the  last." 

"  Never  again,  dear  love ! " 

"Tell  me  you  love  me." 

For  a  moment  she  was  silent.  The  kiss 
withheld  became  thrice-precious.  "Just  once," 
coaxed  her  heart,  "just  this  once.  I  never  can 
say  it  again ! "  Then  she  whispered  to  him,  "  I 
love  you ! " 

The  rapture  of  it  was  stronger  than  she 
thought;  her  soul  was  like  a  perfume  floating 
into  his,  and  she  lost  power  to  draw  it  back. 

From  the  dark  windows  upstairs  came  a  shriek 
as  of  a  soul  recoiling  from  the  gates  of  hell. 

"  Mother  of  God  ! "  exclaimed  Felise,  clutching 
Roderick's  arm.  A  shiver  of  uncanny  fear 
shot  through  him  too.  Instinctively  he  felt 
for  his  revolver,  his  first  impulse  being  to  pro 
tect  himself  and  Felise  from  —  he  knew  not 
what ! 

"  Some  one  with  the  nightmare,"  said  he,  but 
that  was  not  his  thought. 

"  Christ  pity  her !  "  exclaimed  Felise. 

The  windows  flared  dimly. 


THE  EMPRESS   CHARLOTTE  217 

"  Why  doesn't  some  one  see  about  that  ?  "  he 
cried,  starting  toward  the  house. 

"  Don't  leave  me  !  "  exclaimed  Felise,  and  then, 
ashamed  of  her  cowardice,  she  said  :  « Yes,  go 
quickly  !  That  was  her  Majesty's  room  !  " 

"  Her  Majesty  !  "  exclaimed  he. 

"  I  will  go  with  you,"  she  said,  and  followed. 

Taliaferro  dashed  in,  caught  up  a  candle,  and 
went  upstairs,  shielding  its  flame. 

"  Which  door  ?  "  he  called.  Felise  was  close 
behind. 

"  You  can't  go  into  her  Majesty's  room,"  she 
said.  "  Give  me  the  light."  Her  hand  shook. 

"Wait !  "  he  cried,  his  imagination  picturing  in 
that  darkness  a  maniacal  form  crouched  for  a 
spring.  He  knocked.  There  was  no  answer. 

"  She's  in  the  second  room,"  said  Felise. 

He  opened  the  door.  A  second  door  stood 
open.  «  Your  Majesty  !  "  he  called. 

"  Who's  that  ?  "  cried  a  voice  he  did  not  recog 
nize. 

"  I  am  here,  your  Majesty,"  called  Felise,  tak 
ing  the  light. 

"  Is  that  she  ?  "  asked  Taliaferro.  "  Leave  the 
door  open.  If  it's  anything  —  call  instantly  ;  do 
you  hear  ?  " 

Felise  went  in. 

"  What's  this  ?  "  demanded  Velasquez  de  Leon, 
hastening  up  the  stairs.  The  commandant  held 
up  his  hand  for  silence,  and  listened,  ready  to 
rush  in. 


218  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

"  Thank  God  for  the  light ! "  exclaimed  the 
Empress. 

"  Who  are  you  ?  "  asked  De  Leon.  "  Why  are 
you  listening  at  this  door  ?  " 

"  Listen  !  "  commanded  Taliaferro. 

"  What  is  it  ?  "  asked  Felise.  "  Is  your  Majesty 
ill  ?  " 

"  Yes.  Light  the  lights.  I  am  going  to  the 
Prefect  Estava." 

"  At  this  hour  !  " 

"  Yes.     Order  a  carriage  !     That  gown  !  " 

"  But  if  your  Majesty  is  ill,  we  must  call  the 
physician." 

"  Physician  ! "  said  the  Empress,  scornfully. 
«  I  am  going  to  Estava.  I  must  have  the  key." 

"  Key  ?  We  will  send  for  the  prefect,  your 
Majesty." 

"  That  gown,  I  say  !  Where  are  the  ladies  ? 
Oh,  such  dreams,  such  dreams  !  " 

"  In  God's  name,  what  is  it  ?  "  whispered  De 
Leon. 

Taliaferro  shook  his  head.  "  The  ladies  should 
come,"  he  said. 

"  I  will  bring  them,"  said  De  Leon,  and  went. 

In  a  voice  as  of  a  sleep-walker,  the  Empress 
told  Felise  her  dream.  "  I  climbed  a  cliff  that 
churned  back  into  a  sea.  Above  me  a  ledge  of 
basalt,  an  Aztec  god's,  too  smooth  to  climb.  A 
throne  on  it,  a  double  throne,  with  cannon  and 
red  canopy.  An  Emperor  there,  his  face  in  mist, 
his  fingers  tapping.  He  would  not  help  me  up. 


THE  EMPRESS   CHARLOTTE  219 

I  was  dumb  —  my  voice  bound  by  some  terrible 
promise.  I  thought  it  was  Napoleon,  but  as  I 
sank  and  was  swept  down  to  drown,  I  saw  his 
face  !  " 

"  It  was  only  a  dream,  your  Majesty,  nothing 
but  a  dream,"  said  Felise. 

"  The  prefect  led  two  vultures  in  gold  chains. 
They  rose  and  hid  the  sun,  the  Empire  darkened. 
Links  fell,  and  were  cities  besieged  and  full  of 
corpses.  One  chain  was  of  Maximilian,  the 
other  of  Juarez.  The  prefect  came  and  touched 
the  link  Puebla  with  his  key  —  " 

"  Is  that  the  key  ?  "  exclaimed  Felise. 

"  Why  have  you  not  ordered  the  carriage  ?  " 
cried  the  Empress.  "  Where  is  the  Marquesa  de 
Guadeloupe  ?  where  is  Senora  Pacheco  ?  " 

"  I  wish  they'd  come,"  muttered  Taliaferro. 

«  I  will  call  them,"  said  Felise.  "  But,  surely, 
your  Majesty  will  not  go  to  the  prefect  at  this 
hour  about  a  dream  !  " 

"  Cease  prying  into  my  affairs,  Countess  del 
Aguilar !  Must  the  Empress  of  Mexico  go  for 
her  own  carriage  ?  " 

Felise  started  out. 

"  Who  was  it  called  ?  "  asked  the  Empress. 

"  No  one,  your  Majesty,"  said  Felise,  ^topping 
fearfully. 

"  Who  was  with  you  when  you  came  in  ? " 
said  the  Empress,  sharply. 

"  Oh,  that  —  the  Commandant  Taliaferro." 

"  Why  is  he  here  ?     Ah,  yes,  young  Countess, 


220  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

I  remember.  I  pardoned  him  because  he  tied  an 
artery." 

Taliaferro  heard  behind  him  a  startled  ex 
clamation.  It  was  a  lady  of  honor.  "  Her 
Majesty  is  acting  strangely,"  said  he,  quickly. 
"  Please  go  in." 

She  went  in,  and  Felise  came  out.  She  was 
shaking  like  a  leaf. 

"  Did  you  hear  ?  "  she  asked.  "  What  shall  I 
do  ?  Her  eyes  burn.  Is  it  fever  ?  " 

"  Order  the  carriage,"  said  he,  turning  to  go 
down  with  her.  «  We  must  let  Castillo  know." 

"  Is  she  —  merciful  God,  do  you  think  she's 
mad  ?  " 

"  Let's  hope  she  doesn't  stay  like  this," 
said  he. 

As  they  went  down,  the  marquesa  and  Doiia 
Elena  hurried  up.  At  the  foot  of  the  stairs, 
Roderick  and  Felise  met  De  Leon  and  Castillo. 

"  She  must  be  humored,"  said  Castillo,  quickly 
grasping  the  facts.  "  Order  the  carriage,  De 
Leon,  —  half  a  dozen  dragoons,  no  officer  —  he 
might  talk  —  the  Commandant  will  do.  On  your 
honor,  Commandant,  not  a  word  of  this !  The 
marquesa  and  I  will  go  with  her.  Tell  the  Del 
Barios  '  reasons  of  state.'  Try  to  keep  your 
aunt  from  knowing,  Countess.  She  is  looking 
at  us  strangely  through  the  salon  door." 

"  Dona  Casilda ! "  exclaimed  Felise,  with  a 
start  of  dismay. 

Castillo  went  on  upstairs. 


THE  EMPRESS   CHARLOTTE  221 

"  Come  with  me,  Commandant,"  said  De  Leon, 
turning  toward  the  portico. 

"  I  follow  in  one  instant,  Count,"  said  Talia- 
ferro. 

"  My  father  will  know ! "  exclaimed  Felise 
desperately. 

"  Do  not  go  back  to  him ! "  said  Roderick, 
with  all  his  will  power  in  his  words.  "  I  return 
from  the  prefect's  with  the  Empress.  Get  ready. 
Go  with  me.  We  will  be  married  to-night." 

"  Good-by,"  she  said,  "  good-by,  good-by,  Don 
Roderick  !  Forget  me,  and  may  God  be  good  to 
you ! " 

At  the  head  of  the  stairs,  her  eyes  burning 
with  strange  fears  and  strange  desires,  appeared 
the  Empress. 

"  Is  there  no  hope  for  me,  Felise  ?  "  implored 
Roderick. 

"  Christ  give  you  faith  in  Him  ! "  said  she. 


Ill 

THE   BOOK   OF  WAR 


RENUNCIATION 

ON  Friday,  the  13th  of  July,  four  days  after 
her  nocturnal  visit  to  Estava,  the  Empress 
Charlotte  sailed  from  the  shores  of  Mexico. 

Awaiting  the  outcome  of  her  mission,  the 
Emperor  moved  restlessly  from  place  to  place. 
Not  La  Teja,  rose-embowered,  nor  Cuernavaca, 
shut  from  the  world  in  its  enchanted  valley,  gave 
him  peace. 

Chapultepec  was  deserted,  and  Felise  came 
home  to  live.  She  escaped  Santa  Teresa  by 
telling  Don  Miguel  that  she  had  said  farewell  to 
Taliaferro  forever. 

Her  little  coquetries  and  cooings  ceased  about 
the  house.  Upon  her  lips,  which  happy  life  had 
shaped  like  a  thrice-curved  bow,  appeared  the 
shadow  and  strength  of  sorrow.  She  gave  up 
the  lofty  comb  and  the  fetching  twist,  massing 
her  hair  low,  and  thereby  gaining  unaware  the 
shadowed  grace  and  mystic  charm  which  Nature, 
but  not  Paris,  gives  to  woman's  head.  For 
getting  he  was  not  to  see,  she  wondered  before 
her  mirror  if  Don  Roderick  would  like  her  so. 
Then  she  cried. 

Q  225 


226  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

Oh,  vanished  rapture  of  life,  and  joy  of  youth, 
and  dream  of  motherhood !  To  herself  she  lied 
theologically,  and  called  all  that  the  world,  the 
flesh,  and  the  devil.  Her  heart  knew  better. 
When  she  gave  her  soul  to  the  Moonlight  Sonata, 
she  was  that  thing  in  it  which  fled  in  anguish 
from  the  flaming  sword  of  some  lost  Eden. 

She  sought  solace  in  the  supernatural  love  of 
those  unseen  beings  for  whose  sake  she  had 
renounced  the  love  of  a  living  man.  She 
thought  often  of  Padre  Geronimo,  whose  unfal 
tering  soul  seemed  never  for  one  moment  cut  off 
from  the  mystic  love  of  Christ.  She  hoped  the 
saintly  padre  could  teach  her  the  secret  of  that 
ineffable,  monastic  peace,  which  came  with  the 
ceasing  of  desire.  But  her  father  would  not  let 
her  go  to  Cazadero  to  see  the  padre,  saying 
guerillas  had  taken  Ixmiquilpan  and  made  the 
roads  unsafe. 

Often  Felise  went,  after  the  day's  rain,  to  the 
deserted  cloister  garden  of  San  Francisco,  where 
the  sunset  lay  like  prayer  on  walls  that  shut 
the  world  away,  and  the  noises  of  the  street 
were  only  far-off  rumors  of  unrest.  "  How  still 
it  is ! "  thought  she,  and  realized  with  a  thrill 
that  day  by  day  for  centuries  the  sacred  evening 
light  had  rested  so.  Here,  in  time,  one  might 
forget  even  love  !  "  Oh,  blessed  solitude,  oh,  sole 
beatitude ! "  The  monkish  Latin  words  grew 
pleasant  to  Felise,  and  her  lips,  meant  for  kisses, 
said  them  softly,  trying  to  forget  those  other  lips. 


RENUNCIATION  227 

Taliaferro  was  north  in  a  new  infantry  regi 
ment,  hammering  the  Republican  advance,  receiv 
ing  useless  promotion  and  foolish  medals.  He 
did  not  care,  as  before,  for  the  discipline,  com 
fort,  and  safety  of  his  men.  He  did  not  much 
care  what  they  did  in  a  fight.  He  went  in,  and 
they  could  come  if  they  liked.  They  thought 
the  devil  had  charmed  his  life.  The  "  Cazadores 
de  San  Luis "  found  in  him  a  natural  leader. 
His  mood  made  him  the  most  desperate  of  the 
whole  wild,  brawling  lot.  They  were  the  riff 
raff  of  France,  Austria,  Hungary,  Belgium, 
Mexico,  and  the  Confederacy,  —  gold-hunters,  ex- 
slavers,  cow-punchers,  criminals,  negroes,  desert 
ers.  They  were  the  despair  of  Dubois,  Sarnette's 
old  captain,  who  had  accepted  a  Mexican  com 
mission  and  become  their  colonel.  He  wanted 
to  resign  the  day  a  recruiting  officer  sent  him 
"  ten  pairs  of  chained  volunteers." 

The  Cazadores  liked  Taliaferro  because  he  was 
afraid,  neither  of  the  enemy,  nor,  which  was 
more,  of  them ;  because  he  could  drink  them  all 
drunk,  and  didn't  object  when  they  lost  their 
tempers  and  shot  each  other.  That  disgraceful 
mob  acquired  a  habit  of  going  in  behind  him 
and  smashing  the  enemy.  He  became  its  lieu 
tenant-colonel. 

The  summer  passed.  Tampico  fell,  Saltillo 
was  abandoned,  the  French  fell  back  from  Mon 
terey.  The  revolution  ran  like  fire  throughout 
the  land.  The  Empire  shrank  to  a  chain  of 


228  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

strong  cities.  The  mission  of  the  Empress  to 
Napoleon  failed. 

Autumn  came.  Upon  the  capital  the  lines  of 
the  French  retreat  converged  like  a  vast  fan 
from  north  and  west  and  south.  Behind  them 
rose  the  Republic.  Hastily  organized  Imperial 
regiments  like  Taliaferro's  were  all  that  with 
stood  the  pressure  of  the  Juarist  hordes.  Por- 
firio  Diaz  escaped  from  prison  and  marched 
southward,  sowing  dragon's  teeth.  Armed  men 
sprang  up.  Before  them  fell  Oaxaca. 

Pressed  by  the  French  to  retire  and  spare 
them  the  shame  of  abandoning  him,  implored  by 
the  Clericals  to  remairx  and  save  them  from  the 
Liberals,  Maximilian  hesitated  between  the  logi 
cal  abdication  and  the  heroic  death-struggle.  To 
him  came  the  tidings  that  Charlotte,  his  wife, 
was  mad. 

There  began  the  tragedy  of  Maximilian. 
Beneath  the  gorgeous  Mexican  stars,  he  spent 
that  night  alone  upon  the  housetop,  and  found 
no  heart  to  bear  his  burden.  In  the  morning, 
he  departed  with  Khevenhiiller's  hussars  for 
Orizaba.  It  meant  abdication,  and  the  Empire 
shook  to  its  foundations.  The  Cabinet  was  for 
cibly  prevented  from  resigning  by  Bazaine.  The 
capital  filled  with  rumors  of  Sicilian  Vespers. 

Navarro,  Medina,  Del  Rio,  and  other  promi 
nent  Clericals  hastened  to  Orizaba.  The  Jesuit, 
Father  Fischer,  spun  his  suave  webs  round  the 
bruised  mind  of  Maximilian.  The  church  prom- 


RENUNCIATION  229 

ised  to  form  a  cabinet,  recruit  the  army,  fill  the 
treasury.  Miramon,  ex-president  of  the  Repub 
lic,  the  young  general  whose  record  was  lus 
trous  with  Clerical  victories,  and  Marquez,  grim 
devotee,  the  Alva  of  Mexico,  fanatic  perhaps,  but 
the  man  for  the  hour,  appeared  from  exile  over 
sea,  implored  pardon  for  past  —  misunderstand 
ings,  and  laid  at  the  royal  feet  the  service  of 
their  swords. 

The  Emperor  decided  not  to  sail.  There  was 
champagne  and  torchlight  in  Orizaba. 

Medina  cast  his  life  and  fortune  into  the  scale. 
Under  the  ultra-Clerical  Cabinet  formed  by 
Fischer,  Don  Miguel  accepted  a  brigadier's  com 
mission  and  subscribed  fifty  thousand  pesos. 

Returning  from  Orizaba,  he  announced  to  his 
family  that  he  was  going  to  Cazadero.  Mora, 
his  administrator,  would  have  to  grind  the  peons 
of  the  estate,  but  the  fifty  thousand  had  to  come. 
For  the  journey,  the  brigadier  was  given  a  small 
escort  of  hussars.  As  yet  he  had  no  brigade,  but 
Mejia  was  to  send  him  a  regiment.  From  this, 
officers  and  sub-officers  would  be  taken  to 
"  frame  "  a  new  regiment  at  Cazadero. 

Her  father  consented  to  let  Felise  go  with 
him.  Dona  Casilda  at  once  wanted  to  know  if 
the  American  commandant  would  be  in  that 
regiment  from  Queretaro. 

"  No,"  said  Don  Miguel,  "  he's  a  cavalryman." 

"  Before  that  regiment  arrives,"  said  Felise, 
resentfully,  «  I  may  be  —  " 


230  RODERICK  TALIAFERRO 

« Off  with  the  heretic  ? "  amiably  suggested 
the  dona. 

« That  incident  is  closed,  Dona  Casilda,"  said 
Don  Miguel.  "  Please  let  us  forget  it." 

"  I  may  be  in  Santa  Teresa,"  said  Felise. 

«  What  ?  "  demanded  Don  and  Dona. 

"  I  mean  to  see  what  Padre  Geronimo  thinks 
of  it,"  said  Felise.  "  I  have  promised  not  to  see 
Don  Roderick,  but  I  love  him,  and  shall  till 
death.  I  will  never  marry  any  one  —  never !  I 
might  as  well  do  some  good  as  a  sister." 

"  Don't  be  romantic,  Felise  !  "  said  Don  Miguel. 
"  Within  a  year  you  will  marvel  at  that  infatu 
ation." 

"  There  are  plenty  of  eligible  men  for  you ! " 
exclaimed  Dona  Casilda,  who  regarded  the  con 
vent  as  a  place  for  spinsters  of  necessity.  She 
named  several  of  the  eligibles,  among  them 
Ortiz,  who  was  righting  with  Mejia,  and  Don 
Jose,  "though  he,  to  be  sure,  has  turned  Chinaco 
again." 

"  Remember  that  dreadful  duel,  Dona  Casilda," 
said  Felise.  "  I  don't  want  any  of  them."  The 
coquette  looked  pleased,  nevertheless,  at  the  fact 
that  they  wanted  her. 

"  It  would  be  better  if  you  wanted  what  was 
good  for  you,"  said  Dona  Casilda. 

"  There's  only  one  man  I  want,"  said  the  girl, 
"  and  he'd  be  good  for  me  —  if  only  — "  she 
sighed.  She  had  not  given  up  hope  that  her 
prayer  would  be  answered,  and  Roderick  turn 


RENUNCIATION  231 

Catholic  for  her  sake.  « If  I  can't  have  him," 
she  said,  "  I'll  take  Santa  Teresa." 

Don  Miguel  went  off  mentioning  the  "  Horns 
of  Lucifer  !  "  In  spite  of  his  old  threats,  he  evi 
dently  did  not  want  Felise  in  a  convent  —  not  a 
bit! 

"  What  a  stupid  I  was,"  reflected  she,  «  not  to 
see  sooner  that  two  can  talk  convent !  " 

« Did  you  really  mean  it,  Felise,  about  the 
convent  ?  "  asked  Chona,  when  she  heard  of  this 
conversation,  "  or  did  you  say  it  just  to  scare 
him  ?  " 

"  I'm  glad  I  scared  him,"  said  Felise,  with 
mischief  in  her  eye.  "  But  I  really  do  mean  it, 
my  Chonita." 

"  I  don't  believe  it,"  said  Chonita,  firmly. 

That  evening  there  fell  from  the  Medina  bal 
cony  into  the  chapeau  of  Sub-lieutenant  Fernand 
de  Sarnette  a  dainty  note. 

"  Felise  says  she  is  going  to  be  a  sister,"  said 
the  note,  "because  she  can't  have  her  Don  Rod 
erick.  I  think  she  will  marry  him  yet,  espe 
cially  if  he  stops  being  a  heretic.  I  think  she  is 
talking  to  scare  papa.  She's  doing  it.  Papa  is 
a  general  again.  It  makes  him  furious  if  any 
one  thinks  he's  too  old.  Be  careful.  He  is 
going  to  Cazadero  to  raise  a  regiment.  Did  you 
really  mean  what  you  said  about  staying  in 
Mexico  after  your  army  goes  back  to  France  ? 
A  lieutenant  from  a  French  regiment  would  be 
a  captain  in  this. 


232  KODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

"  Felise  is  going  to  Cazadero.  Do  you  ever 
write  to  the  Commandant  Taliaferro  ? 

"  I  am  going  too.  It  will  take  a  month  to 
form  the  regiment.  It  will  be  called  the  Caza- 
dors  del  Valle  de  San  Juan,  and  we  start  day 
after  to-morrow." 

«  My  dear  girl ! "  remonstrated  the  lieutenant 
from  the  sidewalk,  "  I  can't  go  to  Cazadero.  It 
is  out  of  the  question.  Next  week  they  give  my 
play  at  the  Vicomtesse  de  Saint-Castin's." 

Chona  detested  the  play.  It  had  monopolized 
the  vicomte's  time  for  six  weeks,  and  now,  as 
in  that  other  one  that  raised  such  a  storm,  the 
parts  were  being  taken  by  the  prettiest  French 
and  American  women  in  Mexico.  It  was  a  fool 
ish  play,  anyhow ;  but  those  designing  persons 
kept  telling  the  vicomte  it  was  clever.  Chona 
placed  her  bare  arms  along  the  cool  railing,  and 
laid  her  cheek  upon  them,  "  You  will  never  see 
me  again,"  she  announced.  "  I  knew  all  the 
time  you  thought  more  of  that  play  ! " 

This  led  to  fervent  protestations,  of  which  the 
lady  refused  to  believe  a  word.  It  became  a 
necessity  of  Sarnette's  existence  to  convince  her. 
But  resign  his  hard-won  French  commission, 
reawaken  his  uncle's  ire,  leave  his  play,  join  one 
of  those  Cazador  outfits  he  had  satirized !  It 
was  too  much.  He  refused  to  do  it. 

Chona  left  the  balcony  in  tears.  She  did  not 
return  as  Sarnette  expected,  and  he  had  to  leave 
without  saying  good  night. 


RENUNCIATION  233 

At  breakfast,  Chona  wheedled  her  father  till 
he  consented  to  take  her,  too,  to  Cazadero,  "  if 
Dofia  Casilda  will  also  go." 

"  I'm  not  sure  yet  that  I  want  to  go  at  all," 
said  Chonita.  "  I'll  decide  for  sure  this  evening." 

That  evening,  she  began  by  bidding  Fernand 
an  eternal  adieu.  When  at  last  he  said  he  would 
go,  she  nearly  threw  herself  from  the  balcony 
into  his  arms,  and  went  to  bed  with  the  supreme 
feminine  satisfaction  of  having  made  a  man  do 
for  her  what  he  knew  he  shouldn't  and  had  vowed 
he  wouldn't. 

Dona  Casilda's  question  as  to  the  American 
commandant  was  more  pertinent  than  Don  Mig 
uel  supposed.  When  Major-general  Mejia,  fall 
ing  back  from  San  Luis,  received  in  Queretaro 
the  order  to  detach  a  regiment  to  Cazadero  as 
nucleus  of  the  new  brigade,  he  chose  the  Cazadores 
de  San  Luis  precisely  because  Taliaferro  was  their 
lieutenant-colonel.  The  general  had  not  forgot 
ten  his  promise  at  Matamoros,  and  supposed  the 
lieutenant-colonel  would  be  advanced  by  Medina 
to  command  the  new  regiment.  He  said  as 
much  confidentially  to  Taliaferro  the  day  the  San 
Luis  regiment  received  its  marching  orders. 

"  Does  General  Medina  determine  who  shall 
be  colonel  ?  "  asked  Taliaferro. 

"  Yes,"  said  "  Don  Tomasito."  "  I  understand 
his  estate  not  only  fills  the  files  of  a  regiment, 
but  pays  the  brigade.  The  Ministry  will  appoint 
whomever  he  says." 


234  RODERICK  TALIAFERRO 

"  Not  me,  then,"  said  Taliaferro. 

"  Why  not  ?  "  asked  Mejia. 

"  A  private  difference  with  Medina." 

"He  should  overlook  it  for  the  good  of  the 
service.  There's  work  for  that  brigade.  First 
of  all  you  must  clean  up  Ixmiquilpan.  Do  you 
know  anything  about  the  place  ?  " 

"Only  that  the  Belgians  failed  to  take  it  in 
October." 

« Medina  will  know  it,"  said  Mejia.  "  It's 
near  the  eastern  border  of  his  estate.  You  can 
take  him  the  Belgian  plan  of  the  fortifications. 
Come  in.  I'll  get  it  now.  I  meant  to  hand  it 
to  Dubois." 

Taliaferro  stepped  into  the  headquarters  office, 
and  the  general  told  a  clerk  to  find  the  plan. 

"  The  place  is  strong  since  De  Castro  built  a 
certain  hill-fort  there,"  said  he. 

"  De  Castro  ! "  exclaimed  Taliaferro.  "  Don 
Jose  ?  " 

"  Yes,"  said  Mejia.  "  Do  you  know  him  ? 
He  took  the  town  with  three  or  four  hundred, 
but  has  recruited  to  twice  that,  and  is  armed 
with  those  cursed  American  repeaters." 

"  The  new  Spencer  ?  " 

"  Yes.  A  friend  in  Chihuahua  wrote  me  that 
De  Castro  brought  a  thousand  from  New  Orleans. 
To  the  Republicans  he  explained  his  short  adhe 
sion  to  the  Empire  as  a  ruse  to  keep  the  De 
Castro  mines  from  us  '  traitors.'  The  Supreme 
Government,  which  had  just  arrived  at  Chi- 


RENUNCIATION  235 

huahua  in  a  hack,  could  not  afford  the  luxury  of 
a  doubt,  and  made  him  brigadier." 

"  I  haven't  heard  a  word  of  him  for  over  a 
year,"  said  Taliaferro. 

"  For  a  while,"  said  Mejia,  turning  to  a  map, 
"  his  men  merely  stopped  mails  and  robbed  dili 
gences  along  here  from  Tula  to  San  Juan.  But 
see  how  he  lies  here  now  on  my  right  rear ! 
Medina  must  take  that  town  !  "  "  Don  Toma- 
sito  "  pounded  it  vigorously  with  his  finger. 

"  I  hope  he  lets  us  take  it  without  waiting 
for  his  '  Cazadores  del  Valle,' "  said  Taliaferro. 
"They  will  be  a  peon  regiment  with  about  as 
much  dash  as  a  ploughing  ox." 

"  Likewise  as  much  fidelity  and  patience,"  said 
"  Don  Tomasito,"  quietly  vindicating  the  men  of 
his  own  race.  "  You  will  change  your  mind  if 
you  become  their  colonel.  Here's  your  plan. 
Look  at  it  and  give  it  to  Medina.  The  San  Luis 
regiment  has  done  some  good  things,  Taliaferro, 
but  they  never  took  a  place  like  that.  Good 
luck  to  you  and  the  Brigade  Medina  !  " 

« The  Brigade  Medina,"  mused  Taliaferro,  as 
he  went  out. 


II 

THE    SIX-MULE   TEAM 

THE  same  dusty  December  day  that  the  Me- 
dinas,  escorted  by  thirty  hussars,  and  accompa 
nied  by  Sarnette,  drove  out  of  the  capital,  the 
Cazadores  de  San  Luis,  seven  hundred  strong, 
began  their  easy  three  days'  march  from  Quere- 
taro  to  Cazadero. 

The  regiment  grumbled  because  it  was  leaving 
the  front.  It  had  grumbled  the  same  way  when, 
in  Mejia's  army,  it  fell  back  from  its  birthplace, 
San  Luis.  Taliaferro  spread  the  news  that  they 
were  going  into  a  new  brigade  which  was  going 
to  be  paid.  This  did  more  than  the  provost- 
guard  to  prevent  desertion.  As  they  marched 
southwestward  through  the  hills,  the  Cazadores 
sang  route-step  songs  in  seven  languages.  In 
the  laxly  formed  column  trudged  the  permanent 
and  temporary  wives  of  the  soldiers.  Colonel 
Dubois  ordered  the  women  to  march  by  them 
selves  in  the  rear  of  the  wagons  where  the  dust 
was  worst.  At  this  the  Cazadores  swore  in 
seven  languages,  and  prophesied  that  Colonel 
Dubois  would  die  in  the  next  battle. 

*  *  *  *  * 

236 


THE   SIX-MULE  TEAM  237 

Six  strong  mules  drew  the  lightly  built  travel 
ling  carriage  of  the  Medinas  between  adobe 
walls  and  lines  of  poplars.  Green  fields  gleamed 
sunlit.  Clouds  trailed  blue-black  shadows  on 
the  mountains.  Snow  melted  from  the  summits. 

Except  for  a  small  advance  party,  half  a  mile 
ahead,  the  hussars  rode  behind  the  carriage  to 
avoid  filling  it  with  dust.  The  first  day's  jour 
ney  took  them  to  Tepeji  del  Rio,  at  the  foot  of 
the  mountains  which  wall  the  valley  of  Mexico 
on  the  north. 

The  cure,  at  whose  house  they  stopped  for 
the  night,  alarmed  the  ladies  with  stories  of 
travellers  carried  off  by  insurgents  to  await  ran 
som  in  Ixmiquilpan. 

Sarnette  assured  Chona  that  with  their  escort 
they  would  not  be  molested. 

Ixmiquilpan  ceased  to  fill  the  soul  of  Dona 
Casilda  with  the  terror  of  the  unknown  when 
Don  Miguel  told  them  that  Cousin  Jose  com 
manded  there.  Cousin  Jose  might  be  a  wild 
fellow  and  not  overscrupulous,  but,  for  all  that, 
he  was  a  relative,  and  too  rich  not  to  be  re 
spectable.  Felise,  however,  was  not  reassured, 
hearing  that  Don  Jose  was  the  leader  of  possible 
assailants. 

That  evening,  a  village  girl  walked  up  the 
road  to  a  wayside  fonda  where  she  met  three 
horsemen.  One  rode  off  into  the  hills,  another 
remained  at  the  fonda,  and  the  third  came  with 
the  girl  to  a  house  in  the  village.  The  girl  went 


238  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

to  the  Fonda  y  Tienda  where  the  hussars  were 
drinking,  and  bought  a  pitcher  of  pulque.  A 
sergeant  opened  a  flirtation.  She  seemed  willing. 
The  sergeant  winked  to  a  comrade  and  asked  the 
girl  her  name.  She  said  it  was  Anita,  gave  a 
drink  from  her  pitcher,  and  asked  where  they 
were  going.  The  sergeant  said  to  a  rich  hacienda 
where  they  would  live  on  the  fat  of  the  land. 
She  had  better  follow,  he  thought.  He  himself 
was  going  to  be  an  officer  in  a  new  regiment  up 
there.  The  girl  sat  down  and  drank  with  him. 
He  told  her  they  were  the  escort  of  General 
Medina.  Those  senoritas  were  his  daughters. 
He  was  a  marques  —  very  rich.  The  sergeant 
thought  one  of  the  ladies  had  noticed  him  par 
ticularly.  The  other  was  too  busy  with  that 
French  lieutenant.  Body  of  Satan  !  He  would 
show  people  when  he  was  lieutenant ! 

Anita  found  out  all  the  budding  officer  knew, 
and  left  him.  He  followed  her,  but,  he  being 
tipsy,  she  easily  eluded  him,  and  went  to  the 
house  where  she  had  left  the  horseman.  After 
a  time,  he  came  out,  and  he,  also,  rode  back  into 
the  hills. 

At  dawn,  the  Medinas  started  up  the  moun 
tains,  hoping  to  cross  them  and  reach  Arroyo 
Zarco  by  dusk.  They  stopped  for  lunch  at  San 
Francisco,  and  came  at  three  o'clock  to  the  defile 
beyond  San  Miguel. 

Rocks  rose  precipitous  on  both  sides.  The 
carriage  halted.  Three  hussars  dismounted  and 


THE   SIX-MULE   TEAM  239 

went  up  the  wooded  heights.  They  saw  no 
enemy.  The  advanced  party  galloped  through, 
but  drew  no  fire.  The  ladies  grew  nervous,  but 
the  officers  explained  that  the  scouting  was  only 
to  make  sure.  In  ten  minutes  one  of  the  ad 
vanced  party  returned  and  said  it  was  all  right. 

The  hussars  unslung  carbines,  formed  column 
of  fours,  and  started  on  a  fast  trot.  They  passed 
the  first  mile.  Rounding  a  bend,  they  saw  the 
hussars  of  the  advance  in  the  sunlight  beyond 
the  defile.  They  saw  the  open  valley  and  the 
tiny  village  of  El  Puerto. 

A  rifle  cracked  on  the  crest  of  the  crag,  and  a 
puff  of  smoke  hung  in  a  shrub.  Dona  Casilda 
screamed,  Felise  grasped  her  father's  arm,  Chona 
jumped  to  her  feet.  Don  Miguel  pushed  her 
back. 

"  Steady  !  "  he  cried.     His  face  was  white. 

"  Gallop  !  "  shouted  the  lieutenant  command 
ing  the  escort.  The  hussars  struck  spur ;  the 
driver  lashed  his  mules.  Three  rifles  rang.  The 
off  leading  mule  pitched  to  the  ground,  the 
pointer  came  down  on  him,  the  wheeler  braced, 
slid,  stopped.  The  carriage  was  anchored. 

"  Halt ! "  yelled  the  lieutenant  to  his  hussars. 

Sarnette  leaped  from  his  horse,  and  cut  the 
straps  from  the  prone  leader.  A  ball  whizzed 
past  him  into  the  mule.  An  hussar  fired  back. 

There  was  a  shout  —  "  Surrender,  or  we  fire  !  " 
The  slopes  above  gleamed  with  rifle  barrels  and 
were  alive  with  faces  peering  over  rocks  and 


240  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

shrubs.  White-bloused  men  ran  down  to  the 
road  in  their  front  and  rear.  The  hussars  got 
the  mules  clear  of  the  dead  leader,  and  the 
carriage  started.  A  dozen  shots  followed  in 
stantly,  and  both  wheelers  fell,  also  an  hussar. 

"  Surrender,  or  you're  dead  men  !  "  shouted  the 
voice  on  the  height. 

"  And  dead  women  !  "  yelled  another. 

Sarnette  shouted  to  an  hussar  not  to  fire. 

"  We  can't  get  through,  Lieutenant,"  said  Don 
Miguel. 

The  five  hussars  at  the  end  of  the  defile  fired 
a  volley.  A  white-bloused  man  fell  on  the  road. 

"  If  those  fools  in  front  don't  quit,  there'll  be 
a  hundred  bullets  through  this  carriage ! "  ex 
claimed  Don  Miguel.  Felise  saw  everything  turn 
blue  and  quiver  as  with  heat.  Fifty  rifles  spoke 
to  the  hussars  in  front.  A  horse  fell,  a  man 
rolled  from  the  saddle. 

"You  can't  save  us,  Lieutenant,"  said  Don 
Miguel.  "  If  you  like,  you  can  cut  through  in 
front  and  get  news  of  this  to  Colonel  Dubois  at 
Cazadero." 

"  I  hate  to  desert  you,  General,"  said  the  lieu 
tenant,  hesitating. 

Don  Miguel  waved  his  handkerchief  in  token 
of  surrender. 

"  Shoot  those  men  in  front !  "  yelled  the  leader 
on  the  height. 

They  were  galloping  toward  El  Puerto.  A 
hundred  bullets  sped  after  them,  but  none  took 


THE   SIX-MULE   TEAM  241 

effect.  With  incredible  rapidity  a  second  volley 
followed  from  the  Spencers.  One  of  the  three 
riders  leaped  in  his  saddle,  but  did  not  fall.  The 
hussar,  whose  horse  had  been  shot  at  the  mouth 
of  the  defile,  leaped  up,  mounted  the  horse  of  his 
slain  comrade,  and  started  on  a  fierce  gallop. 
He  was  close  to  the  rifles,  but  counted  on  the 
time  necessary  for  reloading.  An  instantaneous 
volley  brought  down  horse  and  man  forever. 

Felise  found  herself  coming  out  of  a  faint. 
A  small,  fiercely  pompous  man,  with  explosive 
manners,  introduced  himself  as  the  Citizen  Com 
mandant  Pa  von.  The  hussars  were  disarmed,  the 
harness  of  the  dead  mules  cut  away.  Bodies  of 
men  and  animals  were  dragged  to  the  side  of  the 
road.  They  were  going  to  shoot  the  wounded 
hussar  to  save  trouble,  but  the  Commandant 
Pavon  yielded  to  the  entreaties  of  Felise,  and 
let  her  take  him  in  the  carriage  to  El  Puerto. 
The  ladies  did  the  little  they  could  to  lessen 
the  soldier's  suffering.  The  concealed  horses  of 
the  insurgents  were  led  to  the  road.  The  men 
mounted  and  went  with  the  carriage.  The 
hussar  groaned  miserably.  The  terror  of  cap 
tivity  began. 


Ill 

THE    CAZADORES    DE   SAN    LUIS 

IGNORANT  of  their  general's  capture,  the  Caza- 
dores  were  billeted  that  night  in  San  Juan  del 
Rio,  an  orchard  town  in  a  brown  valley.  Intend 
ing  to  make  dinner  at  Cazadero,  they  marched 
at  sunrise  up  the  road  that  wound  from  valley 
to  plateau.  Taliaferro  was  with  the  advance. 

The  colors  and  contours  of  all  that  golden 
region  had  been  etched  and  blazoned  upon  the 
child  soul  of  Felise.  That  one  sharp  peak,  spirit 
ual  with  distance,  veiled  in  leagues  of  shadowless 
light,  towering  faint  and  blue  from  some  deeper, 
greener  valley,  she  had  peopled  with  dreams ; 
from  her  casement  she  had  seen  it  near  and 
black  against  the  silent,  purple  dawn.  Behind 
it,  thought  the  child,  walks  God. 

It  was  the  peak  of  Ixmiquilpan. 

The  regiment  came  in  sight  of  Cazadero  across 
the  uplands  —  a  castle  embowered  ;  orchards  ; 
an  aqueduct  hiding  in  vines  ;  long  stables,  rubble- 
walled,  red-roofed  ;  a  village ;  a  chapel  yellow  as 
gold.  The  princely  hacienda  lay  back  from  the 
road,  to  be  approached  by  its  own  road,  poplar- 
lined. 

242 


THE   CAZADORES   DE   SAN   LUIS  243 

"  Have  you  selected  camp  ? "  The  voice  of 
Dubois  roused  Roderick  from  revery. 

« Not  yet,  sir,"  he  said.  "  Shall  we  see 
General  Medina  first  ?  " 

"  I  wonder  that  he  has  not  sent  some  one  to 
meet  us.  Let's  ride  on  and  see." 

The  village  poured  forth  a  crowd  to  see  the 
regiment.  Most  of  the  men  were  soon  going  to 
be  soldiers  themselves. 

From  the  south,  on  a  ranchero's  fagged  horse, 
came  a  single  hussar.  He  came  up  and  saluted. 

"  What's  the  trouble,  my  man  ? "  asked  the 
colonel. 

"  Sir,  General  Medina  and  his  family  were 
captured  yesterday  afternoon  at  El  Puerto." 

"  His  family  !  "  exclaimed  Taliaferro. 

The  hussar  went  on  with  his  report. 

"  Three  o'clock  I "  interrupted  Taliaferro. 
"  Yesterday  afternoon  !  Where  have  you  been, 
man  ?  " 

"  Of  us  five,  two  were  killed,  one  wounded," 
replied  the  hussar.  "  At  Arroyo  Zarco  we  were 
surprised  in  a  tienda,  and  I  alone  escaped  through 
a  maguey  field  without  my  horse.  I  set  out  on 
foot  —  " 

"  W'ere  those  ladies  hurt  ?  "  cut  in  Taliaferro. 

"  One  wilted,  but  nobody  fired  then.  Fainted, 
I  think." 

"  Twenty-four  hours'  head  start  and  we  no 
cavalry  !  "  thought  Taliaferro.  "  De  Castro  will 
get  them  into  Ixmiquilpan,  where  he's  absolute. 


244  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

He  won't  let  them  go  for  money.  What  will  he 
do  ?  "  Taliaferro  was  desperate. 

"  What  do  you  think  of  this,  Colonel  ?  "  asked 
Dubois. 

"That  we  should  march  at  once  on  Ixmiquil- 
pan,"  was  the  unexpected  reply. 

"  W7hat  for  ?  "  inquired  Dubois. 

"  Because  Medina  and  his  daughters  will  be 
there." 

"  How  do  you  know  ?  " 

"  Those  were  De  Castro's  men  —  with  Spen 
cer  rifles.  They  will  take  their  prisoners  to 
De  Castro  in  Ixmiquilpan."  Taliaferro  spoke 
impatiently. 

"  How  do  you  know  he's  there  ? "  was  the 
aggravating  question. 

"  Either  he  is,  or  he  isn't,"  blazed  Taliaferro. 
"  If  he  isn't,  we  should  take  the  place  in  his 
absence.  If  he  is,  so  are  the  Medinas,  and  we 
should  rescue  them." 

"  Your  reasoning  is  a  little  daring,"  said 
Dubois. 

"  May  I  presume  to  ask  what  you  think  of 
this,  Colonel  Dubois  ?  " 

"That  Ixmiquilpan  should  not  be  attacked 
with  less  than  two  full  regiments.  That  General 
Medina  is "  —  he  swept  his  hand  toward  Caza- 
dero  —  "very  rich." 

"  You  propose  to  sit  down  here  and  do 
nothing!"  exclaimed  Taliaferro,  with  mutiny  in 
his  soul. 


THE   CAZADORES   DE   SAN   LUIS  245 

"  No,"  said  Dubois,  "  there  is  camp  to  make 
and  dinner  to  get.  We  will  also  establish  out 
posts  and  patrols." 

Taliaferro  turned  away  his  horse. 

"  I  have  decided  to  make  camp  north  of  the 
village  there,  Colonel,"  called  Dubois.  "Com 
municate  the  proper  orders." 

"  I'm  not  your  adjutant !  "  snapped  Taliaferro. 

"  Colonel  Taliaferro,  I  place  you  under  arrest !  " 
shouted  Dubois. 

Taliaferro's  desperation  made  short  work  of 
discipline.  "  Arrest  and  be  hanged ! "  he  ex 
claimed. 

Dubois  looked  at  him,  and  then  galloped  back 
to  the  provost-marshal  in  the  rear. 

"  Arrest  Colonel  Taliaferro  !  "  he  commanded. 
"  He  has  disobeyed  my  command  to  consider 
himself  under  arrest !  " 

"  Disobeyed  !  "  gasped  the  provost. 

«  Disobeyed." 

"  I  am  sorry,  my  Colonel,"  said  the  provost. 
"  This  is  serious.  If  he  resist,  the  men  of  this 
regiment  will  not  arrest  him." 

"  Do  you  refuse  to  obey  my  orders  ? "  de 
manded  Dubois. 

"  No,  sir,"  said  the  unhappy  provost. 

"  I  order  you  to  arrest  Colonel  Taliaferro  at 
once ! " 

"  I  will  try  it,  sir,"  said  the  officer. 

"  If  there  is  resistance,  shoot  him  on  the 
spot,"  said  the  colonel. 


246  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

The  provost  did  not  reply.  Taliaferro  had 
resisted  Dubois.  Why  hadn't  Dubois  shot  him  ? 

Taliaferro  halted  the  advanced  guard  in  the 
shade  of  the  poplars,  waited  till  the  main  body 
was  close,  and  made  a  speech. 

"  Cazadores  !  "  he  cried.  "  Your  general  has 
been  captured !  Yesterday,  twenty  miles  from 
here,  the  insurgents  took  him  and  his  family. 
They  have  carried  them  to  Ixmiquilpan  —  the 
town  they  held  against  the  Belgians.  They 
think  they  can  hold  it  against  the  Cazadores  de 
San  Luis !  They  think  the  failure  of  others  has 
stricken  our  hearts  with  terror !  They  think  this 
regiment  dares  not  attack  that  town ! " 

The  advanced  guard  growled  like  a  stage  mob. 
They  loved  a  speech.  The  main  body  arrived, 
demanding  what  was  up.  A  fire  of  explanation 
ran  back,  igniting  the  regiment.  Taliaferro 
went  on,  raising  his  voice,  and  coming  quickly  to 
his  climax. 

"  The  patriot  Medina,"  cried  he,  "  intended  to 
pay  us  soldiers  of  his  brigade  from  his  private 
purse !  Unless  this  regiment  takes  Ixmiquilpan, 
the  rebels  will  pocket  as  ransom  the  money 
which  should  be  our  pay  ! " 

That  settled  it  with  the  Cazadores.  "To 
Ixmiquilpan  !  "  they  yelled.  "  Live  Medina  ! 
Live  Taliaferro  !  On  to  Ixmiquilpan  !  " 

Taliaferro  saw  Colonel  Dubois  coming  at 
the  head  of  the  provost-guard.  The  roar  of  the 
regiment  disturbed  the  colonel.  He  lacked  the 


THE   CAZADORES   DE   SAN   LUIS  247 

tranquillity  of  a  man  sure  of  his  duty,  and  about 
to  do  it.  Taliaferro  scrutinized  him  and  the 
provost,  and  rode  up  to  them.  He  was  prepared 
to  shoot  first,  but  did  not  show  it.  The  Caza- 
dores  saw  him  halt  and  salute  respectfully. 

"  This  regiment  is  going  to  Ixmiquilpan,  Colo 
nel  Dubois,"  said  he.  "  You  are  going  some 
where  else  —  to  the  devil  if  you  like." 

«  Very  clever  !  "  said  Dubois,  with  white  lips, 
and  made  a  gesture  toward  the  regiment.  "  Do 
you  know  what  happens  to  mutineers  ?  " 

"  You  needn't  tell  me  ;   I  haven't  time." 

"  You  will  be  shot  for  this ! " 

"  Very  likely,"  said  Taliaferro,  admitting  it. 

"  I  have  intended  for  some  time  to  leave  this 
shameless  mob,"  said  Dubois,  trying  to  save  some 
shred  of  self-respect.  "  I  have  never  seen  one 
better  fitted  to  command  it  than  you ! " 

"  Thanks,"  said  Taliaferro.  "  You  mean  it  ill, 
but  it  takes  a  man  to  command  this  mob." 

"  I  shall  report  to  Mejia  your  shameful,  cynical, 
flagrant  disobedience." 

"  Adjectives  I  should  doubtless  employ  in  your 
place,  Colonel,"  said  Taliaferro,  cheerfully. 

"  What  an  insolent  puppy  you  are,  Talia 
ferro  !  " 

«  I  haven't  time  for  you  !  "  exclaimed  Talia 
ferro.  "  Insult  me  after  Ixmiquilpan  !  " 

"  I  am  not  surprised  that  a  soldier  capable  of 
your  conduct  should  be  afraid  to  resent  an  insult 
like  a  man  of  honor  ! "  said  Dubois. 


248  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

"  I've  taken  your  regiment,"  said  Taliaferro ; 
"  I  don't  want  to  take  your  life." 

"  You  refuse  to  fight,  do  you  ?  " 

"  You  know  how  you  shoot,  Colonel  Dubois, 
and  you  know  how  I  shoot.  Good-day." 

The  mutineer  rode  to  the  companies,  giving 
orders  to  bivouac  and  prepare  for  the  forced 
march. 

"  Are  you  going  with  me  ?  "  said  Dubois  to  the 
provost. 

"  If  you  command  it,  Colonel." 

"  I've  noticed  how  well  you  obey  commands," 
sneered  Dubois. 

"  As  well  as  you  give  them,"  retorted  the  pro 
vost. 

"  It  was  well  for  him  he  dared  not  fight,"  said 
Dubois.  "  I  want  your  testimony  in  Queretaro." 

The  two  rode  to  their  baggage.  The  colonel 
took  a  wagon  and  an  escort  of  a  dozen  men  who 
looked  black  when  they  found  they  were  not 
going  to  Ixmiquilpan. 

The  smoke  of  quick  fires  rose  from  the  swarm 
ing  regiment. 

With  two  commandants  Taliaferro  rode  to 
the  residence.  The  soldier  in  him  felt  shame  for 
his  military  crime,  but  the  man  thought  of  Felise 
in  the  power  of  De  Castro. 

The  three  officers  had  hasty  lunch  with  Senor 
Mora,  the  administrator.  Taking  his  map  of  the 
estate,  Taliaferro  asked  him  about  roads,  country, 
and  guides. 


THE   CAZADORES   DE   SAN  LUIS  249 

"  I'll  go  with  you  myself,"  said  Mora.  «  On 
the  way  I'll  pick  up  rancheros  who  know  every 
trail." 

"  How  many  horses  have  you  here  ?  " 

"  About  thirty." 

"  Have  them  saddled.  Detail  thirty  men, 
Gonzalez.  There  are  embrasures  in  your  wall, 
Senor  Mora.  Where  are  the  cannon  ?  " 

"  In  the  sheds.  They  were  captured  by  Gen 
eral  Medina  at  Las  Bocas.  We  can  mount  them 
in  five  minutes." 

Taliaferro  looked  at  the  old  guns,  found  am 
munition,  and  gave  orders  to  take  them.  Artil 
lerymen  among  the  Cazadores  set  up  the  caissons 
and  harnessed  in  mules  from  the  wagon-train, 
which,  with  the  women,  was  to  remain  at  Caza- 
dero.  Within  the  hour,  Taliaferro  had  a  force 
of  the  three  arms  and  began  his  campaign. 

To  capture  Ixmiquilpan  was  hard  enough,  but 
Taliaferro's  object  was  harder.  He  had  also  to 
cut  off  De  Castro's  retreat  with  his  prisoners. 
Once  away,  that  mounted  infantry  could  not 
be  caught.  Instinctively,  Taliaferro  considered 
among  other  things  his  own  line  of  retreat. 
Then  he  remembered  the  court-martial  that 
awaited  him,  and  grimly  smiled.  For  him 
there  was  no  retreat. 

Before  two,  the  Cazadores  set  out ;  and,  though 
they  had  marched  seventeen  kilometers  in  the 
morning,  they  covered  twenty-five  more  before 
night.  That  left  them  thirty -eight  to  do.  Talia- 


250  RODERICK  TALIAFERRO 

ferro  planned  to  arrive  within  striking  distance 
after  dark  the  next  evening,  eat  and  sleep  with 
out  fires,  and  attack  with  the  first  of  dawn.  He 
had  little  hope,  however,  that  the  enemy  should 
be  unprepared  for  his  coming.  They  had  too 
many  small  parties  of  horsemen  scouring  the 
country. 

At  a  small  hacienda,  on  the  first  day's  march, 
he  increased  his  mounted  force  to  fifty.  At  a 
place  farther  on,  Mora  said  there  were  a  dozen 
more  horses  and  fresh  mules  for  the  guns ;  but, 
arriving  there  next  day,  they  found  De  Castro's 
men  had  taken  the  horses. 

Taliaferro  used  all  his  horsemen  as  a  cavalry 
screen,  thrown  far  and  thinly  out  on  front  and 
flanks.  Till  noon  on  the  second  day,  no  party 
of  the  enemy  had  been  sighted,  and  the  inference 
was  that  no  party  had  sighted  them.  Along  the 
road,  in  general  little  travelled,  the  rancheros  told 
Mora  that  none  of  the  enemy  had  passed  for  two 
days.  The  regiment  arrived  within  twenty  kilo 
meters  of  Ixmiquilpan,  and  the  enemy  did  not 
know  it. 

The  Cazadores  stopped  at  noon  in  a  beautiful, 
shady  valley,  at  right  angles  to  the  road  and 
traversed  by  a  stream  of  clear,  blue  water.  The 
advanced  guard,  under  Juan  Peredo,  Taliaferro's 
best  captain,  lay  on  the  road,  half  a  mile  beyond 
the  valley,  between  a  pasture  and  a  corn-field. 

Hearing  the  approach  of  horses  from  the  east, 
Peredo  concealed  his  force,  meaning  to  let  the 


THE   CAZ ADORES   DE   SAN   LUIS  251 

riders  pass  and  catch  them  between  him  and  the 
regiment.  The  sound  indicated  a  small  party. 
The  only  danger  was  that  they  were  the  advance 
of  a  formidable  force. 

"  A  dozen  or  fifteen,"  said  Peredo,  when  the 
horsemen  appeared  on  a  rise  of  the  road.  "  Don't 
a  mother's  son  of  you  move  till  they  are  clean 
by.  Wait  till  I  give  the  word  ! " 

It  was  important  that  none  should  escape  to 
carry  back  news  of  the  Imperial  advance.  On 
came  the  insurgents  at  a  walk,  wholly  unsus 
picious,  no  scouts  out,  intending  evidently  to  stop 
for  their  dinner  by  that  very  stream  whose  banks 
were  lined  with  his  Majesty's  Cazadores.  The 
rustling  of  the  corn  stalks  was  caused  only  by  the 
wind. 

"  Tail  of  Lucifer ! "  said  the  insurgent  lieu 
tenant,  «  we  are  on  the  estate  now,  and  it  runs 
to  Cazadero  on  the  great  road.  They  say  they're 
beauties,  too.  When  the  general  heard  they  were 
coming,  he  started  me  off  to  San  Juan  for  fear 
my  good  looks  would  spoil  his  chance  with  the 
heiresses." 

"  What  does  he  want  with  an  heiress  ?  "  asked 
a  mestizo  sergeant.  "  He's  rich  as  a  king 
already  ! " 

The  men  in  the  corn-field  heard  no  more,  but 
the  insurgent  lieutenant  said  something  that 
made  every  one  laugh.  Peredo  listened  anx 
iously  for  more  hoof-beats  in  the  east.  He 
peered  over  the  wall.  In  the  east  nothing.  In 


252  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

the  west  the  insurgents,  one  —  two  —  three 
hundred  yards  away,  and  no  suspicion  yet  of 
what  was  in  the  valley.  The  minutes  seemed 
hours  to  the  men  in  the  field. 

"  First  platoon,  follow  along  there  through  the 
corn  —  through  the  corn,  I  say,  don't  get  out 
there.  Run  low,  close  in  on  them.  The  second 
they  turn  back  get  out  in  the  road.  Stop  'em 
with  bullets  first,  then  bayonets.  Second  platoon, 
wait  here.  Take  what  get  through.  When  they 
start,  sharp-shooters  on  the  wall,  and  get  those 
that  take  to  the  fields.  We  must  get  every 
mother's  son  of  them  !  " 

The  corn  waved  violently  where  the  Cazadores 
went  through — great  serpents  of  movement  amid 
the  still  stalks.  A  horse  whinnied  in  the  val 
ley.  The  insurgents  saw  the  camp  smoke  and 
halted.  Peredo  was  about  to  open  fire,  but  the 
horsemen  were  not  yet  ready  to  take  the  hint, 
and  sent  two  ahead  to  investigate.  Peredo  still 
waited,  knowing  every  moment  increased  the 
chance  that  the  regiment  would  see  and  aid  in 
the  capture. 

A  rifle  cracked.  A  nervous  Cazador  had  fired. 
Twenty  shots  followed,  and  two  or  three  insur 
gents  were  hit.  They  started  at  a  gallop  away 
from  the  fire  in  their  rear.  Their  two  scouts 
saw  the  regiment  in  the  valley,  came  flying  back 
upon  their  comrades,  and  turned  them  panic- 
stricken  toward  Peredo. 

They    came   headlong,   then    saw    the  second 


THE  CAZADORES  DE  SAN  LUIS     253 

platoon  form  solidly  across  their  path.  Their 
lieutenant  put  his  horse  at  the  pasture  wall  and 
cleared  it.  Two  horses  refused  the  leap.  One 
tried  it,  struck,  and  fell  on  the  other  side.  The 
rider  got  up  and  made  off  on  foot.  A  man  aban 
doned  his  horse,  climbed  the  wail,  and  started  to 
run.  The  others  surrendered. 

Every  Cazador  took  the  wall  for  a  rest,  and 
cut  loose  at  the  three  escaping  insurgents.  One 
of  them  fell.  Peredo  himself  snatched  a  rifle 
and  fired  at  the  lieutenant's  horse,  but  missed. 
The  range  was  getting  long.  The  whole  party 
might  as  well  have  escaped  as  that  single  horse 
man,  for  Ixmiquilpan  would  be  warned ! 

Peredo  saw  a  sergeant,  with  bronzed,  hard 
face,  blue  eyes,  arid  a  squint,  throw  in  a  shell  and 
set  his  sight.  The  captain  reached  for  the  rifle, 
but  the  sergeant  shook  his  head,  aimed,  and 
brought  down  the  horse,  four  hundred  yards 
away. 

The  Cazadores  cheered,  but  the  unhorsed  rider 
picked  himself  up  and  ran  on.  Taliaferro  gal 
loped  up  on  Thetis.  They  showed  him  the 
fugitives ;  he  cleared  the  wall,  and  raced.  He 
overtook  the  first  runner,  who  surrendered.  He 
passed  on  after  the  lieutenant.  The  insurgent 
drew  his  revolver  and  fired  after  his  captor. 
He  missed,  but  Taliaferro  turned  in  his  saddle 
and  did  not  miss. 

The  insurgent  lieutenant  disappeared  in  a 
willow-lined  dip  of  the  ground,  but  his  pursuer 


254  KODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

was  close  after  him,  and  presently  marched  him 
back  alive. 

The  colonel  shook  hands  with  the  blue-eyed 
sergeant,  who  spoke  the  Missouri  language,  and 
said  his  name  was  McBumey. 

The  insurgent  lieutenant,  who,  of  course,  pos 
sessed  the  most  information,  was  the  hardest  to 
get  it  out  of.  Before  Taliaferro  examined  him, 
he  heard  the  stories  of  the  men,  and  from  Peredo 
the  scrap  of  conversation  overheard  by  him. 

"  You  were  going  to  San  Juan,"  said  Taliaferro 
to  the  lieutenant.  «  What  for  ?  " 

"  To  find  this  regiment,"  said  the  officer. 
"  It  saved  me  the  trouble,"  he  added,  smiling. 
Peredo  wrote  down  the  answer. 

"  Think  we're  at  San  Juan,  do  they  ?  "  chuckled 
Taliaferro.  "  When  did  you  leave  Ixmiquilpan  ? " 

"  This  morning." 

"  At  what  time  were  General  Medina  and  his 
party  to  arrive  ?  " 

"  Medina  ? "  repeated  the  lieutenant,  inno 
cently. 

"Yes,  lieutenant.  We  happen  to  know  they 
had  not  arrived  when  you  left,  and  the  patience 
of  this  regiment  is  not  long." 

"  Well,  I  don't  know,  just  the  same.  It  was 
thought  they  might  get  in  to-night,"  he  added, 
weakening. 

"  By  what  road  ?  "  With  an  effort,  Taliaferro 
asked  the  question  calmly.  Till  Peredo's  report, 
he  had  taken  for  granted  that  the  mounted 


THE  CAZADORES  DE   SAN   LUIS  255 

captors  of  Medina  would  already  have  their  pris 
oners  in  the  town.  The  lieutenant's  admission 
revealed  a  chance  of  intercepting  them  even 
yet. 

"  I  really  don't  know  the  road,"  answered  the 
lieutenant. 

"  Why  aren't  they  there  already  ?  " 

"  I  don't  know  why  they  should  be." 

"  When  were  they  captured  ?  " 

"  Two  or  three  days  ago,  I  believe." 

«  Where  ?  " 

"  Somewhere  on  the  great  road." 

"  Where  were  they  going  ?  " 

"  Toward  Queretaro." 

"  How  large  a  force  captured  them  ?  " 

"  Gentlemen,  you  can  see  for  yourselves  that 
these  details  would  not  have  been  received  in 
Ixmiquilpan." 

"  We  can  see  no  such  thing  !  "  cried  Taliaferro. 
"  The  Medinas  were  captured  by  one  hundred 
men  day  before  yesterday,  at  three  o'clock,  in 
the  pass  of  El  Puerto.  The  news  was  in  Ixmi 
quilpan  yesterday." 

"  The  devil ! "  ejaculated  the  lieutenant,  seeing 
he  had  been  asked  known  questions  merely  to 
test  him.  "  Perhaps  the  general  did  receive  it," 
he  said,  excusing  himself,  "but  I  didn't."  He 
did  not  notice  that  he  had  conveyed  information 
of  De  Castro's  presence  in  the  town. 

"  What  time  did  General  De  Castro  leave  ? " 
asked  Taliaferro. 


256  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

"  He  didn't  leave,"  said  the  lieutenant,  sur 
prised  into  sincerity. 

"  All  right,"  said  Taliaferro. 

The  lieutenant  was  confused,  seeing  he  had 
been  trapped  into  a  negative  that  revealed  his 
general's  whereabouts.  The  next  question  shot 
into  his  confusion.  "  Did  you  expect  to  meet 
the  Medinas  to-day  ?  " 

"Why,  no;  they  weren't — "  the  lieutenant 
checked  his  tongue. 

"  Finish  that  sentence,  or,  by  Heaven,  you're  a 
dead  man  ! "  thundered  Taliaferro,  leaping  to  his 
feet  with  no  simulated  passion. 

The  lieutenant  gulped  down  his  astonishment 
at  the  transformation  of  his  affable  questioner, 
and  gulped  up  the  words  —  "coming  this  road." 

"  Weren't  coming  this  road  ?  "  demanded  the 
fierce  inquisitor. 

"  On  my  honor  —  no  —  I  swear  it ! " 

«  By  —  what  —  road  ?  " 

The  insurgent  faced  something  deeper  than 
the  desire  of  the  commander  for  military  infor 
mation,  and  he  knew  it.  He  saw  the  powerful 
fingers  of  Taliaferro  curve  into  a  visible,  uncon 
scious  threat  of  strangulation,  as  though,  if  he 
refused  to  speak,  these  would  spring  like  unleashed 
hounds  to  tear  true  words  out  of  his  throat ! 

"  They  broke  a  wrheel  at  Daato  going  over  the 
mountain  trail  to  the  Tula  road,"  said  the  in 
surgent,  collapsing.  "  By  that  road  they  come 
to-night  —  so  help  me  God  ! " 


IV 

THE    TULA    ROAD 

WITH  his  sixty  horsemen  Taliaferro  galloped 
forward.  Commandant  Ruiz  followed  with  the 
regiment,  forcing  his  march.  Fortune  had  given 
Roderick  the  chance  to  rescue  Felise  before  the 
insurgents  got  her  into  the  town. 

The  rolling  plateau  of  Cazadero  went  down 
brokenly  to  the  San  Juan  River.  All  day  the 
dreamy  peak  of  Ixmiquilpan  had  grown  less 
blue,  more  real ;  until  at  last,  moving  ever  toward 
their  shadows,  the  tired  riders  of  Taliaferro 
caught  the  gleam  of  an  insurgent  bayonet  far 
up  among  its  rocks.  They  were  three  or  four 
miles  from  town.  The  road  crossed  a  barranca 
over  an  arched  stone  bridge. 

With  field-glass  and  map,  Taliaferro  and  the 
Commandant  Gonzales  ascended  a  height.  East 
of  them  lay  Ixmiquilpan.  A  mile  north  of  the 
town  two  branches  of  the  San  Juan  flowed  to 
gether,  the  town  lying  between  them  as  between 
the  two  arms  of  a  A.  A  mile  south  of  town 
rose  the  mountain,  between  the  two  rivers,  its 
northern  base  across  the  opening  of  the  A,  its 
western  base  washed  by  that  branch  of  the 

s  257 


258  RODERICK  TALIAFERRO 

river  represented  by  the  prolonged  left  arm  of 
the  inverted  letter.  The  peak  itself  towered 
like  a  great  tilted  obelisk  from  a  pedestal  two 
or  three  hundred  feet  high.  At  the  north  foot 
of  the  obelisk  and  upon  the  pedestal  stood  the 
adobe  walls  of  De  Castro's  fort.  The  obelisk 
leaned  over  it,  protecting  its  rear ;  the  slopes  in 
front  of  it,  that  is,  toward  town,  were  precipi 
tous  ;  and  it  could  be  approached  only  along  a 
narrowing  shelf  of  rock,  the  top  of  the  pedestal, 
which  ran  to  the  west  and  there  met  the  Tula 
road.  This  road,  coming  from  the  south,  followed 
a  similar  shelf  of  rock  on  the  western  wall  of  the 
mountain.  From  the  road  to  the  river  was  a 
sheer  drop  of  two  hundred  feet.  From  the  rocky 
corner  of  the  cliff,  where  the  ledge  from  the  fort 
met  the  ledge  of  the  Tula  road,  the  road  turned 
zigzagging  down  the  northern  slope  of  the  pedestal 
beneath  the  guns  of  the  fort,  and  ran  across  the 
almost  level  land  to  the  town. 

The  road  the  Cazadores  were  on  crossed  the 
western  river  branch  over  a  stone  bridge  guarded 
by  an  earthwork,  and  went  on  into  town.  On 
the  north,  owing  to  the  steepness  of  the  banks, 
a  bridge  over  the  eastern  arm  of  the  A  was  the 
one  avenue  of  approach.  The  Cazadores,  being 
unable  to  cross  the  united  rivers,  represented  by 
the  stem  of  the  A,  must  cross  the  west  bridge, 
and  that  was  commanded,  not  only  by  the  earth 
work,  but  by  the  fort. 

Explaining  what  he  meant  to  do,  Taliaferro 


THE   TULA  ROAD  259 

left  Gonzalez  with  a  few  men  and  all  the  horses. 
Gonzalez  was  to  take  command  of  the  regiment 
when  it  came  up.  With  a  force  of  fifty  odd, 
Taliaferro  followed  a  ranchero  guide  down  into 
the  barranca.  According  to  the  ranchero,  the 
ravine  afforded  a  hidden  passage  which  would 
lead  them  to  the  river  south  of  both  town  and 
peak,  and  enable  them  to  strike  that  Tula  road 
where  Roderick  hoped  to  intercept  Felise. 

The  barranca  wround  interminably,  now  wid 
ening  between  hills  covered  with  soil  and  dense 
vegetation,  now  narrowing  into  a  gorge  cut  sheer 
through  limestone.  An  hour  passed,  dusk  gath 
ered  in  the  hollows,  and  still  the  fifty  Cazadores 
were  wading  and  slipping  over  the  wet  rocks,  or 
tearing  their  way  through  vines  and  thorns  and 
cacti.  Meanwhile,  the  six-mule  carriage  might 
be  rolling  down  into  Ixmiquilpan. 

Taliaferro  was  ahead  of  all  but  Peredo  and 
McBurney.  They  heard  the  faint  roar  of  the 
river,  and  on  between  the  steep  walls  of  the 
gorge  they  saw  it  blue  and  foaming.  The  bar 
ranca  opened  into  it.  Its  farther  bank  was  the 
mountain,  along  which  ran  the  road,  high  enough 
up  to  catch  the  sunlight.  The  rise  from  river  to 
road  was  a  perpendicular  wall  of  gneiss.  Above 
the  road  was  a  steep,  wooded  slope,  which  rose 
to  a  ridge  of  barren  rock.  This  in  turn  sloped 
northward  to  the  leaning  peak. 

Taliaferro's  heart  sank.  Had  the  ranchero  led 
him  into  a  trap  ?  He  looked  around  for  the 


260  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

man,  but  a  turn  of  the  barranca  hid  all  but  half 
a  dozen  of  his  followers.  The  three  leaders 
pushed  on  until  they  were  within  a  hundred  yards 
of  the  end.  On  the  road  above  them,  across  the 
narrow  river,  they  heard  the  galloping  of  many 
hoofs. 

"  Too  late  ! "  exclaimed  Roderick,  thinking  to 
see  the  carriage  of  Felise  pass  there  before  his 
eyes. 

"  Down,  Colonel,  down ! "  cried  Peredo. 
"Don't  let  them  see  us  in  this  trap!" 

They  sank.  McBurney  signalled  the  men 
behind,  who  also  dropped  among  the  vines  and 
boulders. 

"  No  !  "  said  Taliaferro,  listening.  "  They  are 
coming  from  Ixmiquilpan  !  " 

"  Are  they  after  us  ?  "  asked  Peredo.  Being 
where  they  were,  it  was  not  a  pleasant  thought. 

On  the  lofty  road,  in  the  red  light  of  sunset, 
appeared  four  insurgent  horsemen,  who  paused 
and  looked  down  into  the  glen.  The  men  in 
the  shadowed  depth  saw  the  blue  chevrons  on 
the  sergeant's  white  tunic,  but  were  themselves 
unseen.  The  four  went  on,  the  wall  of  the  bar 
ranca  hid  them  from  view;  and  soon  across  the 
visible,  framed  space,  swept  thirty  more,  riding 
in  luminous  faint  haze  of  dust.  At  their  head 
rode  a  glittering  brigadier. 

"  De  Castro  ! "  exclaimed  Taliaferro.  "  De 
Castro  riding  to  meet  Felise  !  " 

So  strange  is  the  heart  of  man,  that  in  that 


THE   TULA   ROAD  261 

moment,  when  Fate  was  gathering  the  elements 
for  its  unknown  decision,  Roderick's  first  emo 
tion  was  a  jealous  regret  at  the  wild  splendor  of 
his  enemy's  appearance.  He  could  have  seized 
McBurney's  rifle  and  shot  the  general,  but  it 
savored  of  assassination,  and  it  would  have 
spoiled  his  schemes.  "  That's  the  third  time  I 
could  have  settled  him ! "  thought  he. 

The  party  passed.  Taliaferro  ran  across  the 
rocks  till  the  river  wet  his  knees  and  the  road 
lay  open  to  his  view.  On  went  De  Castro. 
How  far  was  Felise  ?  How  much  time  was  left 
to  get  his  Cazadores  up  that  cliff?  Could  he  get 
up  ?  Yes,  there  was  a  fissure,  water  worn,  from 
river  brink  to  road.  But  how  much  time  ? 
Either  not  enough  to  cross  and  make  the  ascent, 
or  else  the  insurgents  would  return  in  darkness 
—  Felise  in  her  carriage  would  come  in  dark 
ness.  In  darkness  dared  he  attack  ?  She  might 
be  struck  by  the  bullets  of  his  own  men.  Her 
carriage  might  be  hurled  horribly  from  the 
height.  Looking  forward  to  a  daylight  attack, 
he  had  told  his  men  not  to  fire  toward  the  car 
riage,  and  had  intrusted  McBurney  with  the 
accurate  task  of  bringing  down  a  wheeler.  But 
now  ? 

The  Cazadores  closed  up  in  the  mouth  of  the 
barranca  behind  their  leader.  The  ranchero 
pointed  eagerly  to  the  path  up  the  fissure.  The 
insurgents  disappeared  up  the  road.  A  dash 
through  the  shallow  water,  a  few  minutes'  climb, 


262  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

and  once  above  that  road,  they  had  the  insur 
gents  at  their  mercy.  The  enemy  would  have  a 
hundred  and  thirty  against  fifty,  but,  swooping 
from  above,  with  darkness  and  surprise  as  allies, 
the  Cazadores  would  triumph.  All  Taliaferro 
had  to  do  was  give  the  word. 

He  saw  a  place  where  the  road  had  been  cut 
through  rock,  leaving  a  rude  rampart.  There 
the  carriage  could  not  go  over !  He  saw  the 
resinous  hard  pine  on  the  slope  above.  With 
inspiration  he  gave  the  word. 

The  Cazadores  dashed  waist  deep  through  the 
swift  water,  and  began  the  ascent  of  the  cliff. 
Their  rifles  were  slung,  their  fingers  and  wet 
shoes  clung  and  braced  in  the  crevices. 

"  Nice  business  if  they  should  come  now ! " 
thought  Taliaferro,  worming  his  way  up. 

They  gained  a  short,  stone  bridge,  spanning 
the  fissure  —  a  dizzy  place.  There  was  still  no 
sign  of  the  insurgents.  The  sun  touched  the 
western  hills.  Massive  shadows  ascended  the 
mountain.  Small  outposts  were  sent  up  and 
down  the  road  and  into  the  woods  above.  The 
Cazadores  took  resinous  pine  boughs,  and  piled 
them,  some  split,  some  whittled,  all  smeared,  in 
front  of  a  high  rock  above  the  road.  Beneath 
the  wood  they  placed  scraps  of  paper,  tinder, 
and  loose  powder.  From  it  ran  a  train.  They 
concealed  themselves  among  big  ferns  about  the 
rock,  so  that  the  stretch  of  road  before  it  would 
be  enfiladed  and  crossed  with  rifle  fire. 


THE   TULA  ROAD  263 

Darkness  crept  up  from  the  river.  The  even 
ing  star  shone  pale.  The  sound  of  the  current 
below  them  broke  the  silence.  The  Cazadores 
lay  munching  their  supper  of  hard  bread. 

Afar  in  the  night,  fainter  than  the  gurgle  of 
the  river,  was  a  rhythmic  pulsation.  The  Caza 
dores  held  their  breath. 

There  was  a  whistle  up  the  road.  It  was  a 
low  sound,  yet  the  men  started  and  the  ferns 
about  them  shook. 

"  That's  our  outpost  asking  if  we  hear." 

Taliaferro's  heart  began  to  pound  so  that  he 
could  not  hear  that  other  rhythm  in  the  night. 
But  the  external  pulse  grew  plainer  —  it  became 
the  sound  of  far-off,  hammering  hoofs. 

"  They're  coming  !  "  said  some  one,  huskily. 

"  Don't  fire  toward  the  carriage  !  "  ran  the  low 
warning. 

"  Don't  shoot  till  you  can  see.  Wait  till  the 
fire  leaps  up.  Don't  hit  the  hussars  —  there  are 
twenty-five  of  our  hussars." 

The  sounds  grew  till  they  could  be  distin 
guished  as  a  trot.  Then  they  ceased. 

"What's  that?" 

"  Have  they  stopped  ?  " 

«  They're  walking.     Hear  it  ?  " 

"  Those  hussars  wear  red  jackets.  Shoot  the 
white  ones." 

"  You  fool  !  don't  I  know  the  difference 
between  a  hussar  and  a  Chinaco  ? " 

"You're  fool  enough  not  to." 


264  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

"  Shut  up  there  !  "  said  a  sergeant. 

"You'll  find  out  if  I  —  " 

"  Shut  up,  I  say  !  " 

The  trot  began  again.  Waiting  in  the  dark 
ness,  the  men  fingered  their  pieces  and  stared 
down  at  the  gray,  starlit  road. 

"Be  sure  the  fire  don't  light  you  up,"  said 
some  one. 

"  Let  the  advanced  guard  pass,"  said  an  officer. 
"  Don't  move  a  muscle  when  they  get  here." 

The  insurgents  came  nearer.  The  whispers 
by  the  roadside  ceased.  Taliaferro  heard  the 
"chug!"  of  a  wheel  going  over  a  stone.  There 
were  voices  !  There  was  the  snorting  of  horses  ! 
Would  it  warn  the  riders  ?  The  advanced  guard 
reached  the  outpost  —  was  passing  it !  There  ! 
It  was  visible  —  long  and  vague  in  the  dark  — 
visible  only  because  moving. 

They  reached  the  rock  !  The  horses  fidgeted  — 
wanted  to  stop.  Twenty  riders  came  to  a  walk, 
and  two  went  ahead. 

"All  right!"  called  one.  "Didn't  like  the 
bridge,  I  guess." 

The  advanced  guard  passed,  their  saddles  creak 
ing,  horses  audibly  breathing,  tunics  showing 
ghostly  against  the  black  depth  of  the  abyss. 

"  Now  !  "  thought  the  Cazadores. 

Taliaferro  lay  on  the  rock,  his  senses  acting 
with  wire-drawn  fineness,  waiting  for  the  exact 
moment.  The  main  body  of  the  enemy  was  at 
the  outpost  at  a  walk.  There  was  sound  of 


THE   TULA  ROAD  265 

wheels  nigh  quenched  in  shuffle  of  hoofs !  The 
mule  carriage  must  be  lighted  for  McBurney's 
shot ;  but  the  fire  that  made  them  be  the  target 
of  invisible  foes  would  be  the  object  and  centre 
of  the  insurgents'  attack.  In  that  centre  the 
carriage  must  not  be. 

The  head  of  the  column  reached  the  rock. 
Roderick  strained  eyes  and  ears  to  locate  the 
carriage.  One,  two,  three  sections  passed. 
There  it  was,  twenty  yards  to  the  left.  Rod 
erick  gave  the  signal. 

The  flash  of  the  powder  brilliantly  illuminated 
the  cavalcade.  Instantly  the  road  was  full  of 
blinded,  startled  men  and  plunging  horses. 
Down  into  them,  from  darkness  and  silence, 
roared  and  flamed  a  volley.  There  were  screams, 
groans,  curses,  falling  bodies !  Those  not  hit 
rode  over  those  that  were,  —  stumbled  and  fell 
among  them,  galloped  over  them,  —  and  on,  with 
no  thought  of  attacking  their  unseen  assailants, 
no  thought  of  quenching  that  fire  which  leaped 
up,  unfolding  upon  them  its  great  fan  of  fatal 
light,  no  thought  of  carriage  or  prisoners  — 
only  the  mad  desire  to  pass ! 

Turning  instantly  after  the  powder  flare,  the 
commander  of  the  advanced  guard  judged  the 
Imperial  position  from  the  line  of  rifle  flashes. 
He  determined  to  dismount,  climb  the  slope,  and 
take  his  enemy  on  the  flank.  Then  he  remem 
bered  the  bridge,  and  knew  he  must  first  recross 
it.  His  men  looked  nervously  at  the  darkness  of 


266  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

the  river  below,  the  darkness  of  the  enemy 
above.  At  the  command  to  wheel  about,  they 
obeyed  with  hesitation. 

Into  them  plunged  panic-stricken  riders.  Men 
and  horses  rolled  horribly  from  the  height, 
seemed  to  hang  for  an  instant,  struggling  in 
mid  air,  and  fell.  From  that  horror  there  was 
no  survivor  who  did  not  rush  away  toward 
Ixmiquilpan.  The  advanced  guard  and  the 
head  of  the  main  body  had  ceased  to  exist. 

The  attack  did  not  go  so  well  in  the  rear.  In 
the  powder  flare  Roderick  saw  the  carriage  con 
siderably  to  his  left  and  rushed  thither,  hearing 
the  scream  of  women  above  the  groans  of  the 
dying.  The  fire  blazed  up,  the  carriage  appeared 
on  the  edge  of  its  light.  De  Castro  was  there. 

A  dozen  insurgents  dismounted,  jerked  the 
mules  around,  lifted  the  carriage,  and  turned  it 
to  the  rear.  There  were  sixty  horsemen,  pro 
tected  by  darkness,  unaffected  by  panic,  each 
with  sixteen  shots  in  his  Spencer.  Another 
instant  and  the  carriage  would  escape  in  the 
darkness,  its  retreat  covered  by  these  men. 
That  instant  did  not  arrive,  for  McBurney 
punctually  dropped  his  mule  —  a  wheeler  as 
per  contract. 

The  Cazadores  leaped  down  from  the  dark 
ness  ;  but  the  insurgents  fired  into  them  and 
charged  in  column  up  the  road,  wedging  between 
the  foot-soldiers  and  the  carriage.  Not  daring  to 
fire,  the  Cazadores  attacked  with  bayonets  only. 


THE   TULA  ROAD  267 

Crowding  together,  the  insurgents  fired  from  the 
saddle. 

Behind  that  fight,  De  Castro  towered  on  horse 
back  above  a  dozen  of  his  dismounted  men  who 
surged  around  the  anchored  carriage.  General 
Medina  and  Felise  were  forced  to  leave  it. 
From  behind  the  struggling  lines,  Taliaferro  saw 
Don  Miguel  heaved  up  and  placed  toppling  upon 
a  horse.  He  saw  Felise  as  they  lifted  her  to  the 
saddle  of  Don  Jose.  He  rushed  upon  the  enemy's 
dense  line,  plunging  his  sword  into  horse  and 
man.  He  struggled  over  those  that  sank,  and 
emerged,  bloody,  upon  the  road.  But  that  had 
taken  precious  time.  When  he  got  through, 
followed  by  four  or  five  of  his  men,  he  saw  Don 
Miguel  between  two  horsemen  dragging  at  his 
bridle.  Beyond  them,  from  the  outmost  rim  of 
light,  De  Castro  and  two  others  vanished  with 
Felise. 

Despair  seized  Roderick.  As  in  a  dream  he  saw 
Sarnette,  mounted,  but  unarmed,  plunging  his  horse 
upon  Medina's  guards.  An  insurgent  ten  feet  off 
aimed  at  Taliaferro,  but  a  Cazador  shot  first. 

From  the  darkness  into  which  De  Castro 
plunged  came  shouts,  curses,  the  report  of  a 
pistol.  The  Imperial  hussars  of  Medina's  escort 
and  Taliaferro's  outpost  had  blocked  the  road. 
Back  came  De  Castro  and  two  of  his  officers,  one 
on  each  side  of  him,  he  bearing  the  girl  among 
them  like  a  shield,  making  a  dash  through  fight 
and  firelight  toward  the  town. 


268  RODERICK  TALIAFERRO 

"  Now,  then  !  "  yelled  Taliaferro.  "  Now  stop 
them ! " 

The  Cazadores  were  breaking  with  bloody 
bayonets  through  the  living  barrier,  but  as  they 
came  many  fell  before  the  Spencers  of  the  men 
by  the  carriage  where  Chona  and  Dona  Casilda 
still  were.  Sarnette  backed  his  horse  into  the 
path  of  the  rushing  trio.  He  stopped  only  the 
one  on  De  Castro's  left.  From  the  opposite  side 
Taliaferro  threw  himself  between  the  remaining 
two,  and  seized  the  bridle  of  De  Castro.  The 
officer's  pistol  bullet  struck  his  shoulder,  his 
arm  fell  limp  from  the  bridle,  he  was  thrown  to 
the  road  and  stunned. 

Too  late,  a  Cazador  bayoneted  and  brought 
down  the  horse  of  the  officer  who  had  fired  the 
shot.  Black  against  the  fire  went  Don  Jose,  hold 
ing  Felise  half  fainting  on  his  saddle.  Through  the 
firelight  he  glittered,  clearing  the  bodies  in  his 
path,  and  vanished.  Before  him  went  General 
Medina,  still  prisoner.  After  him  dashed  what 
was  left  of  the  insurgent  force. 


"Taliaferro  threw  himself  between  the  remaining  two,  and  seized 
the  bridle  of  De  Castro  "  . 


V 

IXMIQUILPAN 

TWENTY  Cazadores  lay  dead  or  wounded.  The 
unscathed  did  what  they  could  for  groaning 
comrades.  The  hussars  of  Medina  armed  them 
selves  with  Spencers.  Sarnette  bathed  Chona's 
wrists  and  temples  with  water  from  a  dead 
man's  canteen. 

Peredo,  McBurney,  and  a  lieutenant-surgeon 
tried  to  pick  up  Taliaferro.  He  commanded 
them  to  throw  him  into  the  river.  They  declin 
ing,  he  stood  up  and  swore  crazily. 

"  Come,  Colonel !  "  said  Peredo.  "  We  must 
plug  that  hole  in  your  shoulder." 

"  How  many  men  left  ? "  demanded  Talia 
ferro,  as  they  helped  him  to  a  seat  on  a  slain 
horse. 

"  Over  fifty,  counting  hussars,"  said  Peredo. 

Taliaferro  brightened.  "  I  hadn't  thought  of 
them,"  he  said. 

"  You  must  have  this  off,"  commanded  the 
surgeon.  The  colonel  submitted  with  groans 
to  the  removal  of  blouse  and  shirt. 

"  Send  a  patrol  down  that  road ! "  he  com 
manded.  "  Go  till  they  meet  the  enemy.  If 
he's  advancing,  fire  and  take  to  the  woods. 

269 


270  RODEEICK   TALIAFERRO 

Find  if  De  Castro  took  her  to  town  or  fort. 
Bring  that  outpost  down  and  spread  it  through 
the  woods  toward  town." 

Peredo  cheerfully  obeyed  the  last  order  —  the 
first  rational  thing  his  chief  had  said.  The  sur 
geon  improvised  splints  and  passed  a  bandage 
about  the  wounded  shoulder. 

"  We  may  be  attacked  at  once,"  said  Peredo. 

"  Not  up  the  road,"  said  Taliaferro.  "  They've 
had  enough  of  that.  If  they  come,  it  will  be 
along  the  slope.  We  must  get  out  of  this  fire 
light."  His  brain  was  obscured  by  pain.  He 
found  himself  unable  to  divine  what  the  enemy 
would  think  or  do.  He  felt  as  though  he  had 
forgotten  something  essential,  and  could  not 
remember  it. 

Hussars  cut  away  the  dead  wheeler  and  har 
nessed  in  the  other  mules.  Sarnette  came  from 
the  ladies  to  Taliaferro. 

"  I  didn't  know  you  were  here,"  said  the  colo 
nel.  "  I've  made  a  pretty  mess  of  it ! " 

"  You've  done  splendidly ! "  exclaimed  Sar 
nette,  to  whom  the  recapture  of  Chona  appeared 
in  no  wise  insignificant.  "As  soon  as  you're 
ready,  old  fellow,"  he  said,  "  we'll  get  you  into 
the  carriage  and  start." 

"  Start  where  ?  " 

"  Well,"  smiled  the  vicomte,  "  with  a  moun 
tain  one  side,  precipice  the  other,  and  the  enemy 
in  front,  our  choice  of  starts  is  limited."  Jest 
never  fell  flatter. 


IXMIQUILPAN  271 

"  Peredo,"  said  Taliaferro,  "  send  two  men  and 
a  guide  down  the  other  bank  to  Gonzalez.  He 
must  be  up  within  half  a  mile  of  the  river.  Tell 
him  we  lost  Medina.  He  is  to  attack  Ixmiquil- 
pan  at  once." 

Peredo  had  doubts,  but  obeyed.  The  mes 
sengers  climbed  down  the  fissure. 

"  Where  are  you  going  ?  "  asked  Sarnette. 

"  Down  there,"  said  Taliaferro,  nodding  toward 
Ixmiquilpan. 

"  On  this  road  !  "  exclaimed  Sarnette.  "  With 
this  force  !  Wounded  !  " 

"  My  regiment's  over  there,"  said  Taliaferro. 
"  They  were  tired,  but  when  they  heard  our  fir 
ing,  they  forgot  to  be  tired.  To-night  I'll  sere 
nade  Felise  with  cannon." 

"  But  how  about  Senorita  Chona,  Dona  Cas- 
ilda  ?  They've  had  all  the  serenade  they  want !  " 

"You  can  take  them  down  there,  cross  the 
river,  and  up  the  bank  to  the  Cazadero  road. 
That  puts  you  behind  the  regiment." 

"  The  deuce  I  can  ! "  exclaimed  Sarnette,  look 
ing  at  the  precipice. 

"  Then  take  'em  back  to  Tlahuelipan,  but  I 
can't  spare  more  than  three  or  four  of  those  hus 
sars.  Or  they  can  stay  here  with  the  wounded." 

"  We'll  go  back,  thanks,"  said  Sarnette. 

"  Good-by,  then.  Form  the  men,  McBurney  — 
scouts  toward  town.  I  must  take  Ixmiquilpan, 
Fernand.  If  I  don't  —  good-by  !  "  He  extended 
his  left  hand,  and  looked  in  his  friend's  eyes. 


272  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

Sarnette  started  with  the  carriage  and  his  four 
hussars.  The  wounded  were  placed  above  the 
road,  with  the  surgeon  and  two  men  as  nurses. 

Peredo  asked  if  he  might  offer  a  suggestion. 

"  What  is  it  ?  "  asked  Taliaferro. 

"  Why  not  ourselves  cross  the  river  and  join 
Gonzalez  ?  " 

Up  in  the  woods  cracked  a  rifle,  then  another, 
then  two  or  three. 

"  They're  coming  !  "  exclaimed  Peredo. 

«  Coming  through  the  woods  !  "  said  Taliaferro. 

It  was  too  late  to  follow  Peredo's  sane  advice. 
They  could  not  get  down  the  cliff  under  fire. 
To  retreat  southward  following  Sarnette  was 
then  the  reasonable  thing.  But  the  attractive, 
audacious  thing  —  the  thing  the  enemy  was 
sure  he  would  not  do  —  was  to  dash  past  them 
toward  Ixmiquilpan.  For  this  Taliaferro  gave 
the  order. 

"  Into  the  jaws  of  death  !  "  exclaimed  Peredo. 

They  put  Taliaferro  on  a  horse.  They  went 
two  and  three  abreast,  each  Cazador  clinging  to 
the  stirrup  of  an  hussar.  Between  the  precipice 
and  the  woods,  with  the  speed  of  a  cavalry 
charge,  rushed  twenty  horses  and  forty-five  men. 
A  few  shots  were  fired  at  them  as  they  went  by, 
but  the  enemy  was  in  no  position  to  meet  this 
impossible,  mad  movement.  As  they  passed 
their  outpost,  its  members  caught  hold  where 
they  could,  or,  failing,  fell  into  the  hands  of  the 
enemy. 


IXMIQUILPAN  273 

A  corporal  caught  Taliaferro's  stirrup,  and  ran 
beside  him. 

"  How  many  of  'em  ? "  asked  the  tortured 
leader. 

"Two  hundred,"  said  the  corporal.  "They 
went  up  a  logging  trail  and  spread  like  skir 
mishers  to  surround  the  fire." 

The  swing  of  the  gallop  made  Taliaferro's 
shoulder  excruciating.  It  would  have  been 
luxury  to  faint,  and  roll  off  on  the  road,  but  he 
felt  that  there  was  .some  important,  brilliant 
thought,  •  which,  if  seized,  meant  victory. 

« Two  hundred,"  thought  he.  "  There  were 
fifty  before.  He  must  have  sent  a  hundred  and 
fifty  from  the  fort.  A  hundred  and  fifty  from 
the  fort,"  repeated  he,  but  the  pain  cut  in  and 
the  victorious  thought  was  lost. 

Along  the  mountain-side  they  raced  —  blindly, 
not  knowing  their  own  purpose.  The  slope 
above  and  on  their  right  grew  steeper,  rockier, 
more  treeless.  At  any  moment  they  might  run 
into  some  solid  body  of  the  enemy.  It  would  be 
well  for  neither  side  to  meet  on  that  high  and 
narrow  way.  Behind  them,  visible  against  the 
fire,  black  figures  were  leaping  down  upon  the 
road. 

Taliaferro  gave  the  order  to  slow  down.  He 
wanted  to  get  control  of  that  wild  rush  through 
the  darkness,  but  even  more,  perhaps,  he  wanted 
to  stop  the  intolerable  torture  of  his  arm.  They 
were  under  the  peak.  The  road  was  the  base  of 


274  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

one  precipice,  the  brink  of  another.  Ahead,  they 
saw  the  corner  where  the  ledge  turned  off  around 
the  mountain  to  the  fort.  From  that  corner  the 
Tula  road  went  zigzagging  down  under  its  guns 
to  town. 

Across  the  river,  a  mile  ahead,  was  a  sudden 
flash  and  the  solid  boom  of  a  cannon.  There  in 
the  valley,  looking  like  fireflies,  were  little  flashes. 
They  heard  a  rippling  volley. 

"  Gonzalez ! "  exclaimed  Peredo,  pointing. 
"  The  regiment's  attacking  the  bridge ! " 

"  Halt ! "  commanded  Taliaferro.  As  he  sat 
there  motionless,  his  brain  had  a  chance  against 
the  pain.  He  remembered  everything  —  Felise 
carried  off,  Sarnette  and  Chona  flying  to  the 
rear,  Gonzalez  across  the  river,  the  enemy  coming 
behind,  the  town  in  front,  the  fort  around  the 
peak. 

Up  from  the  valley  came  the  sound  of  an 
increasing  fire.  The  insurgents  at  the  bridge 
opened  with  Spencers  and  cannon.  A  mile 
behind,  running,  were  two  hundred  pursuers. 
Those  men  belonged  in  the  fort.  They  were  not 
there ! 

"  Peredo  !  "  exclaimed  Taliaferro,  "  we  can  take 
that  fort !  It  can't  have  more  than  fifty  men 
this  minute ! " 

Listening  in  dead  silence  to  the  attack  begin 
ning  below,  the  men  with  Taliaferro  heard  those 
exultant  words  and  tingled.  The  common  pur 
pose  seized  each  man. 


IXMIQUILPAN  275 

«  Dismount !  "  cried  Taliaferro.  «  Let  go  the 
horses.  Forward,  double  time  !  " 

Let  the  shoulder  hurt,  for  Taliaferro  did  not 
know  it  then  !  Onward  along  the  precipice  ran 
Cazadores  and  hussars,  coming  to  a  walk  as  they 
neared  the  rocky  corner  of  the  peak.  Past  it 
fell  the  moonlight  they  had  till  then  been  un 
aware  of  in  the  shadow  of  the  mountain. 

"  Halt !  "  rang  a  challenging  voice.  "  Who's 
there  ?  " 

"  Friends  !  "  cried  Taliaferro.  «  We've  got  the 
hussars  !  The  carriage  is  coming  !  What's  that 
firing  below  ?  " 

"  Don't  know  yet,"  replied  the  sentinel,  who 
was  posted  at  the  corner  of  the  peak  so  he  could 
see  both  ways,  southward  along  the  road  and 
eastward  up  the  ledge  to  the  fort. 

"  What  is  it  ?  "  called  a  voice  around  the  corner. 

"  Party  with  hussars,  prisoners.  They've  caught 
the  carriage,  too." 

As  the  sentinel  finished  his  answer,  he  was 
stunned  by  the  butt  of  a  Cazador's  rifle. 

For  an  instant,  Taliaferro's  party  stood  still. 
His  eyes  seized  the  features  of  the  position. 
Square  to  the  right  and  sloping  gently  upward 
ran  the  ledge  which  led  to  the  fort.  The  road 
to  town  turned  also  to  the  right,  but  ran  steeply 
downward  and  doubled  back  upon  itself  below. 
Ledge  and  road  were  white  with  moonlight. 
Both  could  be  swept  by  cannon  from  that  black 
mass  in  front. 


276  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

The  Imperialist  soldiers  paused,  half  in  half 
out  of  moonlight.  Not  two  hundred  yards  ahead 
there  was  a  flash  and  roar.  The  shadowed  rocks 
were  reddened.  The  Cazadores  jumped. 

"  That's  not  at  us ! "  exclaimed  Taliaferro. 
"  That's  at  the  guns  of  Gonzalez.  Forward, 
column  right ! " 

The  hussars  marched  in  front,  their  red  jackets 
concealing  the  uniform  of  the  Cazadores.  Along 
the  ledge,  in  bright  moonlight,  under  the  muzzles 
of  guns  that  might  at  any  moment  annihilate 
them,  passed  Taliaferro  and  his  men.  Fifty  yards 
from  the  fort  a  sentinel  saw  that  these  "  hussars, 
prisoners "  were  armed.  With  a  cry  of  alarm 
he  fired  into  them. 

«  Now ! "  shouted  a  dozen  men,  and  with  no 
need  of  a  command,  the  column  rushed  for  the 
entrance  of  the  thick  adobe  wall. 

The  garrison  were  nearly  all  in  the  northwest 
corner,  where  the  guns  bore  on  Gonzalez,  but, 
hearing  the  sentinel's  alarm,  they  looked  and  saw 
the  supposedly  friendly  column  rushing  upon  the 
fort  as  friendly  columns  do  not  rush. 

With  lighted  linstock  a  sergeant  raced  to  one 
of  the  cannon  that  swept  the  ledge.  He  poured 
the  priming  charge  on  the  vent,  and  to  it  clapped 
the  flame.  It  was  canister.  Its  violent  shower 
tore  and  glanced  on  the  ledge  —  behind  the  com 
ing  column,  which  burst  into  the  fort,  shooting 
and  bayoneting.  Surprise  was  with  the  assail 
ants,  but  desperation  for  the  defenders.  In  three 


IXMIQUILPAN  277 

or  four  minutes  the  pursuing  insurgents  would 
come  charging  up  the  ledge.  The  garrison  took 
refuge  in  the  shadow  of  the  east  wall,  and  in  a 
row  of  adobe  barracks  at  the  base  of  the  cliff. 
Taliaferro  was  forced  to  keep  many  of  his  men 
by  the  moonlit  western  cannon,  ready  to  fire  on 
the  pursuers.  They  were  exposed  to  the  fire  of 
merciless  Spencers  in  the  barrack  windows.  The 
insurgents  drew  a  cannon  from  an  eastern  em 
brasure  and  turned  it  inward  upon  their  enemies. 
Peredo  and  a  dozen  men  rushed  upon  the  gun, 
which  became  the  centre  of  a  hand-to-hand  fight. 

When  the  insurgents  on  the  Tula  road  heard 
the  firing  in  the  fort,  they  made  all  possible 
haste.  Breathless,  they  arrived  at  the  moonlit 
corner,  driving  before  them  the  abandoned  horses, 
which  plunged  down  the  road  toward  town. 
Rifles  and  revolvers  flashed  within  the  fort.  It 
had  not  fallen  —  they  were  not  too  late  !  They 
turned,  and  came  running  upon  the  ledge  —  one 
company  —  two  companies  —  their  white  jackets 
massed  in  the  moonlight. 

A  Cazador  with  lighted  linstock  started  to  fire 
a  gun.  He  dropped  dead,  shot  from  behind. 
Others  seized  the  fire.  Another  dropped,  and 
another,  but  the  cannon  roared,  and  canister, 
horrible  canister,  ripped  the  white,  on-coming 
mass  of  men.  The  ledge  was  clogged  with  dead 
and  dying.  Another  cannon  thundered  and  turned 
the  column  back  in  rout.  Not  half  of  them  went 
back.  The  third  company,  around  the  bloody 


278  RODERICK  TALIAFERRO 

corner,  could  have  rushed  in  on  the  unloaded 
guns,  but  the  slaughter  had  been  too  great.  That 
force  was  whipped,  and  fled.  Seeing  all  lost,  the 
men  inside  surrendered.  « 

The  impregnable  fort  was  in  the  hands  of  thirty 
live  Imperialists. 

The  prisoners  were  placed  under  guard,  the 
guns  reloaded,  and  the  victors  turned  their  atten 
tion  to  the  battle  opening  below.  Ixmiquilpan 
lay  as  in  the  hollow  of  Taliaferro's  hand. 

But  the  capture  of  the  fort,  the  imminent 
capture  of  the  town,  were  only  means  to  his  end. 
De  Castro's  retreat  lay  open  on  the  north.  The 
moment  he  knew  the  fort  had  fallen,  he  would 
fight  a  delaying  action,  mount  the  bulk  of  his 
force,  and  escape  with  Medina  and  Felise.  This 
Roderick  saw  with  the  vividness  of  fever.  He 
must  get  a  force  around  to  block  the  bridge  at 
the  other  end  of  town. 

The  action  at  the  west  bridge  grew  hot.  In 
the  moonlight  an  insurgent  column  appeared, 
coming  out  of  town  in  double  time  to  reenforce 
the  threatened  outpost.  They  were  not  worry 
ing  about  the  fort.  To  them  the  firing  there 
indicated  simply  the  destruction  of  mad  enemies. 
One  shell  from  their  own  stronghold  would  drive 
them  back  with  ruined  morale,  and  permit  Gon 
zalez  to  make  his  crossing  unopposed. 

Peredo  trained  a  gun  upon  the  enemy.  A 
cannon  across  the  river  boomed  and  landed  a 
shell  near  the  column. 


IXMIQUILPAN  279 

"  Not  that  way,  Captain  !  "  cried  Taliaferro. 
"  Fire  toward  our  own  guns." 

Peredo  stared,  then  understood  the  stratagem, 
and  obeyed.  Leaving  him  in  command  of  the 
fort,  Taliaferro  had  four  horses  saddled  and  went 
down  the  zigzag  road  with  two  hussars  and  a 
ranchero  guide.  With  increasing  risk  of  losing 
consciousness,  he  rode,  supported  by  the  hussars, 
toward  the  left  flank  of  the  insurgents  at  the 
bridge.  Every  moment  he  expected  to  see  the 
Cazadores  charge  across  from  the  other  bank. 
He  arrived  within  two  or  three  hundred  yards  of 
the  enemy,  and  still  his  men  were  only  pepper 
ing  away  with  the  old  handicap  of  Chassepot 
against  Spencer. 

"  Well,  come  on,  come  on ! "  muttered  Talia 
ferro,  impatiently.  "  Are  the  idiots  going  to 
wait  till  that  reenforcement  gets  here  ? " 

If  they  waited,  they  could  not  cross,  he  would 
be  cut  off  from  them,  and  could  not  send  to  the 
north  that  force  upon  which  all  depended. 

"  Why  don't  they  come  ?  "  groaned  he. 

As  though  his  intensely  working  mind  had 
flashed  its  desire  invisibly  over  into  the  mind  of 
Gonzalez,  the  Cazadores  stopped  firing,  ran  in 
dense  column  out  upon  the  bridge,  and  poured 
across  unchecked  by  the  fall  of  many  men.  The 
attack  opened  fanlike  upon  the  insurgent  breast 
works,  and  though  the  defenders  fought  desper 
ately,  knowing  reenforcement  was  near,  they 
were  overpowered  and  driven  back. 


280  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

Company  after  company  came  hurriedly  across 
and  went  into  line  of  battle.  Calling  from  a 
distance  to  avoid  being  shot  at,  Taliaferro  rode 
up  with  his  hussars.  Peredo  pitched  a  shell 
into  the  river  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  away. 
The  Cazadores  laughed  at  the  wild  shot.  Talia 
ferro  met  Gonzalez  and  his  aides. 

"  By  all  these  worlds  of  God ! "  exclaimed 
Gonzalez,  reining  in.  "  Where  did  you  come 
from  ?  " 

« We've  taken  the  fort,"  said  Taliaferro. 
"The  town's  at  our  mercy.  Where  are  the 
horses  ?  " 

"  You're  wounded,"  said  Gonzalez.  "  You 
look  badly.  I'll  call  the  surgeon." 

"  Send  a  company  to  reenforce  Peredo  in  the 
fort." 

Gonzalez  looked  frightened.  Was  this  deliri 
ous  superior  to  ruin  everything  ? 

"  Lieutenant  Funk,"  said  TaLiaferro  to  an  aide, 
"  tell  Captain  Cloue  to  report  his  company  to 
Captain  Peredo  in  the  fort.  This  hussar  will 
show  the  way." 

Funk  looked  at  Gonzalez.  A  shell  screamed 
over  the  Cazadores  and  fell  several  hundred 
yards  beyond. 

"  The  fort  is  firing  at  us  now  !  "  remonstrated 
Gonzalez. 

"  Damn  it,  man,  that's  Peredo !  He  won't 
hurt  you.  Funk  ! " 

The  aide  departed  with  his  message.    It  began 


IXMIQUILPAN  281 

to  dawn  on  Gonzalez  that  perhaps  Taliaferro  had 
verily  taken  the  fort. 

"  Where  are  the  horses  ? "  reiterated  the 
colonel. 

«  Back  with  the  guns,  sir.  Is  it  possible  that 
with  only  fift}^  men  —  " 

"  Yes.     Who  commands  the  reserve  ?  " 

«  Delaroche." 

"  Lieutenant !  To  Captain  Delaroche  !  Two 
companies  and  the  horses  here  at  once ! "  The 
aide  departed.  "  Where's  Ruiz  ?  " 

"  On  the  left,"  said  Gonzalez. 

"  Commandant  Gonzalez,"  said  Taliaferro, 
"  I'm  growing  faint.  Listen.  You,  too,  Captain 
Ortiz.  The  moment  you  send  up  a  rocket,  Pe- 
redo  will  turn  the  guns  of  the  fort  against  the 
town.  The  next  moment  begins  the  retreat  of 
De  Castro.  He'll  take  Medina  and  Felise  —  the 
girl  I  love.  The  fort  commands  all  roads  but 
that  north  one.  Block  it.  Block  that  north 
bridge.  De  Castro  may  find  out  any  minute. 
He  will  go  north.  It's  a  race.  You  can't  go  up 
the  other  bank  and  cross  —  the  bridge  is  on  the 
east  arm  of  the  river.  You  must  go  up  here, 
between  river  and  town.  Take  the  guide.  Half 
a  mile  beyond  town  swing  in  to  the  right.  Take 
the  force  at  the  bridge  in  the  rear.  Finish  it  — 
drive  it  into  the  river.  Then  turn,  and  hold  that 
bridge  to  your  last  man  and  your  last  drop  of 
blood ! " 

"  I'll  do  it !  "  cried  Gonzalez. 


282  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

"Take  three  companies.  Ortiz  will  mount 
another  and  take  it  after  you.  Tell  Ruiz.  It's 
two  miles.  Twenty  minutes  is  the  outside  limit. 
Make  it  fifteen  if  you  can  ! " 

"  It  leaves  this  point  terribly  exposed,"  said 
Gonzalez,  pointing  to  the  many-flashing  line  of 
battle  moving  upon  them. 

"  I  want  it  exposed,"  said  Taliaferro.  "  Let 
this  attack  succeed." 

Gonzalez  marched  to  block  the  bridge.  Talia 
ferro  was  lifted  from  his  horse,  and  carried  to 
the  shelter  of  the  earthwork.  He  lay  uncon 
scious,  while  from  across  the  river  his  cannon 
shelled  the  enemy's  advance.  The  fort  blazed 
away  harmlessly.  Around  him  fought  the  Caza- 
dores.  All  about  Ixmiquilpan  in  the  night  seven 
hundred  men  were  carrying  out  the  purpose  of 
this  one  who  lay  with  white  face  near  the  west 
ern  bridge. 

After  the  sudden  battle  on  the  precipice,  the 
rush  into  the  hussars,  the  sight  of  Roderick  shot 
and  hurled  to  the  road,  Felise  was  borne  help 
less  in  the  arms  of  Don  Jose.  Finding  himself 
beyond  the  firelight,  with  his  horsemen  at  his 
back,  he  reined  in,  sent  messengers  flying  to  fort 
and  town,  and  assured  Felise  that  she  was  out 
of  danger. 

"  Then  give  me  a  horse  of  my  own,"  said 
she. 

"  Oh,  no,"  said  he,  "  there's  no  side-saddle.     A 


IXMIQUILPAN  283 

dainty  little  carriage  will  meet  us  presently. 
Till  then,  you  ride  here  in  my  arms." 

"  I  can  shorten  the  stirrups  and  ride  a  saddle 
like  this,"  said  she. 

"  You  might  ride  it  in  the  wrong  direction," 
laughed  he. 

She  asked  him  to  ride  nearer  to  her  father. 

He  declined. 

"  What  are  you  going  to  do  with  us  ? "  she 
demanded. 

"  Set  you  at  liberty,"  said  he. 

"  Really  !  "  exclaimed  she.  "  My  father  and 
me  ?  Why,  I  could  almost  kiss  you  for  a  good 
cousin  !  "  He  tried  to  kiss  her,  but  no.  "  Why 
didn't  you  spare  us  that  long  ride,  and  that 
battle,  that  horrible  battle  ?  " 

"  And  that  dead  Gringo ! "  thought  he,  with 
satisfaction.  "  I  didn't  want  the  battle,"  ob 
served  he.  "  Besides,"  he  added,  pressing  her 
waist,  "  liberty  involves  one  sweet  little  con 
dition." 

She  shuddered.  "  How  can  you  release  pris 
oners  of  war  without  the  consent  of  your  gov 
ernment  ? "  asked  she,  not  caring  to  hear  his 
condition. 

"  You,  Felise,"  said  he,  "  are  a  prisoner,  not  of 
war,  but  of  love.  As  to  your  father  —  in  Ixmi- 
quilpan  I  am  the  government !  " 

She  realized  how  wholly  she  was  in  his  power 
—  an  absolute  monarch,  a  man  who  made  love 
to  her  body,  believing  that  through  it  he  could 


284  RODERICK  TALIAFERRO 

subdue  her  soul.  She  looked  at  the  precipice 
with  the  desperate  thought  of  wrenching  free 
and  leaping  from  it.  It  was  too  horrible  !  She 
remembered  that  suicide  was  sin,  and  came  back 
to  thoughts  of  outwitting  him,  shaming  him, 
attacking  his  vanity,  reducing  him  once  more  to 
the  doglike  submission  he  had  shown  before  he 
grew  jealous  of  Taliaferro.  But  that  was  when 
he  had  hope  of  her  heart,  that  was  when  she  was 
secure  in  the  house  of  her  father.  She  thought 
with  terror  of  what  he  might  do  now. 

They  met  three  companies  marching  from  the 
fort.  De  Castro  stopped  and  gave  them  the 
order  to  extend  through  the  woods  and  surround 
the  Cazadores.  Thinking  Taliaferro  was  dead,  he 
did  not  much  care.  Had  he  himself  gone  back 
with  proper  respect  for  his  enemy,  and  left  a  re 
serve  upon  the  road,  Taliaferro's  mad  rush  would 
have  been  to  ruin.  But,  intoxicated  with  the  pos 
session  of  Felise,  De  Castro  thought  of  little  else. 

The  "  carretelita "  he  had  ordered  met  them 
at  the  foot  of  the  zigzag  below  the  fort,  about  a 
mile  from  town. 

"  It  isn't  the  last  time  I  will  hold  you  in  my 
arms,"  he  whispered,  as  he  let  Felise  down  from 
his  saddle. 

"  It  must  be  sweet  to  hold  a  girl  who  loathes 
you  !  "  exclaimed  she. 

«  You'll  find  out,  my  lady  !  "  muttered  he. 

She  entered  the  carriage  with  her  father,  and 
clung  to  him  hysterically. 


IXMIQUILPAN  285 

As  they  entered  Ixmiquilpan,  a  cannon  across 
the  river  struck  the  first  note  of  Taliaferro's 
"serenade,"  and  a  shell  burst  near  the  earth 
work  at  the  bridge. 

"  They  are  going  to  attack  the  town ! "  ex 
claimed  Don  Miguel. 

The  heart  of  Felise  leaped  rosy  from  the 
depths.  "  The  men  of  Taliaferro  ?  "  she  cried. 

"  The  Cazadores,"  said  he.  "  They  must  be 
here  alone..  They'll  never  take  this  place."  The 
musketry  began  like  an  arpeggio. 

"  Why  not  ?  "  exclaimed  Felise,  with  hope. 
«  Why  not  ?  " 

Don  Miguel  shook  his  head.  He  feared  the 
regiment  would  be  sacrificed  in  a  vain  attempt, 
and  wondered  at  the  rashness  of  Dubois. 

"  I  thought  those  fellows  on  the  Tula  road 
were  pretty  bold,"  said  Don  Jose  to  one  of  his 
officers.  "  Ride  down  and  see  what  that  is. 
Report  at  the  palace."  To  make  sure,  De  Castro 
sent  orders  to  Commandant  Navarro  to  reenforce 
the  outpost  at  the  bridge.  He  himself  went  on 
with  the  carriage  to  the  Municipal  Palace. 

Don  Miguel  was  left  in  a  comfortable  room 
with  guards  at  the  door.  Felise  was  accom 
panied  by  Don  Jose  to  a  suite  once  occupied  by 
the  Imperial  alcalde.  Don  Jose  ordered  the 
soldiers  to  wait  outside,  told  the  servant  who 
lit  the  lights  to  withdraw,  and  closed  the  door. 
A  body  of  horse  galloped  through  the  street 
below. 


286  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

"  My  father  shall  have  one  of  these  rooms," 
said  Felise. 

"  He  can't  be  guarded  here,"  said  Don  Jose. 
"  What's  that  ?  "  He  went  to  the  window  to 
listen.  Leaning  out,  he  looked  down  a  street 
that  ran  straight  toward  the  peak.  He  saw  the 
cannon  of  the  fort  raking  the  ledge.  "  Thunder 
of  God  !  "  he  exclaimed.  "  How  did  the  enemy 
get  up  there ! "  He  did  not  dream  that  Talia- 
ferro's  small  force  had  passed  the  three  com 
panies  sent  to  surround  it. 

"  There  must  be  some  one  here  who  can  act 
as  maid,"  said  Felise. 

"  The  fort  will  finish  them,  however  they  got 
there,"  muttered  Don  Jose*. 

"  I  simply  will  not  stay  in  here  alone,"  said 
Felise.  "  My  father  will  give  his  word  not  to 
escape." 

"  Captain  Craviotto ! "  called  Don  Jose"  to  an 
officer  in  the  street.  "  Gallop  your  squadron  to 
the  fort  and  find  out  what  that  is." 

"  Yes,  my  General,"  came  the  answer  from 
below. 

"  Do  you  hear  me,  Don  Jose  ?  "  said  Felise. 
"  I  am  deathly  tired,  and  will  have  things  so  I 
can  get  some  sleep." 

"  Orderly  !  "  called  Don  Jose",  "  send  messengers 
for  me  to  the  alcalde's  suite." 

Thinking  to  regain  her  father's  room,  Felise 
turned  suddenly,  ran  to  the  door,  and  threw  it 
open. 


IXMIQUILPAN  287 

"  Stop  her ! "  said  Don  Jose,  calmly,  and  the 
girl  was  met  by  a  levelled  bayonet.  She  rushed 
upon  it.  The  soldier  threw  it  behind  him  as 
she  came,  and  caught  her  wrists. 

"  Will  you  come  here,  Felise  ? "  asked  Don 
Jose1,  "  or  shall  they  bring  you  ?  " 

She  came  back  trembling  with  rage  and  reali 
zation  of  helplessness.  "  Are  you  not  ashamed 
to  act  like  this  before  your  men  ?  "  she  asked. 

"  Ah  !  "  exclaimed  he.  «  I  thought  so  !  "  The 
fort  had  turned  its  guns  back  on  Gonzalez.  He 
expected  her  to  ask  what  had  happened,  but  her 
lips  were  sealed,  and  her  soul  was  full  of  des 
perate  thoughts. 

"  Some  fools  have  just  committed  suicide," 
said  he,  leaving  the  window. 

"  I  must  see  the  general  at  once,"  said  a  voice 
outside  the  door. 

"  Come  in,"  called  Don  Jose. 

It  was  the  officer  he  had  sent  to  the  bridge. 
"It  is  a  strong  force  attacking  the  bridge,  my 
General,"  said  he. 

"  Haven't  Navarro's  squadrons  gone  to  reen- 
force  it  ?  "  asked  De  Castro. 

"  They  were  leaving  town  as  I  came  in,"  said 
the  officer,  excitedly,  «  but  the  fort  itself  is  being 
attacked  !  " 

«  No,  it's  not,"  said  De  Castro. 

"  But,  my  General,  I  saw  the  cannon  firing 
down  the  ledge.  Look  from  the  window ;  you 
can  see  for  yourself  !  " 


288  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

"  Is  that  an  order,  Lieutenant  ? "  asked  the 
general. 

"  I  beg  pardon,  sir  !  "  exclaimed  the  officer. 

"  All  right,  Lieutenant,"  said  De  Castro  ;  "  you 
may  go." 

Don  Josh's  poise,  even  though  it  was  also 
a  pose,  impressed  Felise.  He  meant  that  it 
should.  For  that  he  was  exhibiting  his  control 
of  men  and  things,  revealing  the  masterful  work 
ing  of  his  mind  in  danger,  and  making  the  attack 
upon  the  town  a  mere  incident  of  his  talk  with 
her. 

"  You  don't  seem  much  concerned,"  said  she, 
seizing  the  feminine  weapon  of  flattery. 

"  That's  the  first  pleasant  thing  you've  said  to 
me  !  "  exclaimed  he.  His  gratitude  really  touched 
her  a  little.  "  It  is  much  wiser  to  be  pleasant,"  he 
said  ;  "  for  listen,  Senorita  Felise  :  I  have  lost  half 
my  fortune  in  a  single  night,  and  never  whined 
or  quit,  but  staked  the  other  half  to  win  it  back. 
I  have  won  it  back  —  because  I  had  the  strong 
est  will.  And  when  that  Gringo  heretic  won 
your  heart  from  me  —  thank  God,  he's  now  in 
hell ! " 

She  gasped. 

"  Oh,  I  see ! "  he  exclaimed.  "  I  see  }^our 
heart  is  with  him  yet.  But  I  will  win  it  back. 
Whether  he  lives  or  is  dead,  I  will  win  it  back. 
Do  you  know  how  I  am  going  to  begin  ?  "  He 
went  to  the  window.  She  followed  him  with 
her  eyes.  "  Come  here,  Felise,"  he  commanded. 


IXMIQUILPAN  289 

"  I  will  not ! "  exclaimed  she,  clenching  her 
hands. 

«  No  ?  "  said  he.  "  Then  from  where  you  stand 
look  out  across  the  moonlit  plaza.  That  dark 
church  is  San  Isidro.  You  will  be  married  there." 

«  I  will  die  first !  "  exclaimed  Felise.  «  You 
cannot  make  me  !  " 

"  Oh,  yes,  I  can,"  said  he.  «  But  that  is  why 
I  said  it  was  wiser  to  be  pleasant.  It  will  be 
better  if  you  do  not  make  me  tell  you  how." 

There  were  hurried  footsteps,  voices  outside,  a 
knock. 

"  Come  in,"  called  De  Castro. 

"  General,"  said  the  messenger,  " Comman 
dant  Navarro's  compliments.  The  enemy  has 
crossed  the  bridge  in  force ! " 

"  Against  Navarro  ?  "  asked  De  Castro. 

"  They  were  across  before  he  could  arrive." 

"  Isn't  he  attacking  them  ?  " 

"  Yes,  my  General,  but  he's  outnumbered  three 
to  one." 

"  To  Navarro  !  Tell  him  to  hang  on.  Tell  him 
his  rifles  shoot  five  times  to  the  enemy's  one." 
The  messenger  went.  De  Castro  sprang  to  the 
window.  "Orderly!"  he  shouted.  "To  Colonel 
Reyes !  His  regiment  full  speed  to  the  western 
bridge ! "  He  turned  back  to  Felise,  and  read 
in  her  eyes  a  prayer  for  his  defeat.  "  Don't  be 
alarmed,"  said  he,  bitterly.  « If  my  enemies 
should  penetrate  this  very  plaza,  they  could 
not  hold  it  half  an  hour  against  the  fort." 


290  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

A  squadron  galloped  up  the  street  from 
the  south.  Another  messenger  came  in  with 
Navarro's  compliments.  "  A  force  of  the  enemy 
is  moving  by  its  left  flank,"  he  said.  "  Navarro 
says  he  can't  prevent  it,  asks  your  presence,  and 
thinks  the  town  itself  will  be  attacked  by  this 
force  swinging  from  the  north  !  " 

Before  De  Castro  could  answer,  Captain  Cra- 
viotto  came  running  up  the  stairs  and  burst  into 
the  room.  "  General !  "  exclaimed  he. 

"  Well,  Captain  ?  "  said  De  Castro. 

Craviotto  went  to  him  and  whispered,  "  The 
fort  has  fallen  !  " 

«  What !  "  shouted  De  Castro. 

The  captain  repeated  the  annihilating  words. 
At  Don  Jose's  consternation,  Felise  took  heart 
with  hope  of  salvation. 

"  Do  you  know,  Craviotto  ?  I  saw  the  guns 
turn  back  against  the  bridge ! " 

"  A  ruse,  a  ruse  !  I  saw  those  guns  mow'  down 
two  companies  of  our  men  !  " 

"  Carrajo  !  "  exclaimed  Don  Jose.  "  I  see 
what  that  left  flank  means !  To  that  north 
bridge,  Craviotto,  ^  or  our  retreat  is  cut!  Take 
every  man  and  officer  and  company  you  meet 
and  hold  that  bridge  against  all  hell ! " 

Craviotto  ran  downstairs.  In  a  moment  his 
command  was  flying  north.  He  took  the  men 
from  the  earthwork  on  the  northern  edge  of 
town  and  rushed  up  the  straight,  moonlit  road. 
A  cannon  at  the  bridge  flashed  and  boomed.  It 


IXMIQUILPAN  291 

had  been  turned  around.  The  shell  burst  in 
the  field  to  Craviotto's  left,  and  there  he  saw  a 
column  of  Cazadores  running  toward  the  bridge. 
It  was  Gonzalez.  Craviotto  beat  him.  The 
Cazadores  went  into  line  and  advanced,  firing 
rapidly,  but  were  checked  by.  the  cannon  and 
the  Spencers.  Gonzalez  failed  to  take  the  bridge. 

Meanwhile  De  Castro  summoned  a  dozen  aides 
and  orderlies,  and  sent  each  flying  with  a  message. 

"  To  Navarro,  with  my  compliments :  '  Fall 
back  slowly,  holding  the  enemy.  We  leave  the 
town.' 

"  To  Colonel  Reyes :  <  Later  orders  —  the  north 
bridge,  not  the  west ! ' 

"  To  the  captain  of  the  Palace  Guard :  '  Mount 
your  men.  Form  before  the  palace.  For  me  three 
horses,  one  side-saddled  ! ' 

"  To  Medina's  guard :  '  Take  him  down  to  the 
street,  prepared  to  ride  ! '  " 

"  Do  you  mean  to  expose  my  father  and  me 
to  more  such  perils  and  fatigues  as  we  have 
had  ?  "  exclaimed  Felise. 

"  Yes,"  said  Don  Jose.  "  Your  friends,  the 
Cazadores,  give  us  no  peace.  Two  thousand  of 
them  have  fallen  upon  us  from  God  knows 
where  —  balloons,  I  think.  I  have  lost  this 
town  while  I  stood  talking  here  to  you.  It's 
worth  a  town,  charming  Felise.  I  regret  that 
it  will  not  be  San  Isidro  after  all,  but  console 
myself  with  the  recollection  that  in  the  north, 
where  we  are  going,  there  are  churches  too." 


292  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

"  I  won't  go  with  you  !  "  said  Felise. 

"  You  will  go,"  said  he,  «  and  now.  Best  will 
ingly  !  You  will  commence  by  walking  down 
those  stairs  —  to  avoid  being  carried  by  me  or 
dragged  by  my  men."  He  was  hard  as  steel. 
She  walked. 

He  went  to  his  room,  took  papers,  burned 
others,  and  in  five  minutes  mounted  his  horse. 

Felise  rode  between  two  horsemen,  preceded 
by  three  and  followed  by  three.  Her  father, 
vainly  protesting  against  this  new  adventure, 
was  likewise  surrounded. 

As  they  left  the  palace,  a  rocket  rose  from  the 
north  road.  Behind  them  the  fort  began  a  ter 
rific  cannonade.  They  galloped  up  the  main 
street,  but  De  Castro  found  his  northern  earth 
works  full  of  Cazadores.  Failing  to  take  the 
bridge,  Gonzalez  had  done  the  next  best  thing, 
and  formed  a  living  dam  across  the  northern 
streets  of  town.  De  Castro  turned  back,  intend 
ing  to  hurl  a  regiment  against  that  dam.  But 
through  the  plaza,  past  the  palace,  up  the  street, 
poured  a  pell-mell  of  men  and  riders,  mules  and 
guns.  The  fire  of  their  own  fort  had  turned 
retreat  to  rout. 

De  Castro  fought  his  way  back  through  the 
panic-stricken  mob,  and  with  half  a  dozen  men 
got  Felise  and  her  father  into  a  deserted,  eastern 
side  street.  The  mob  poured  on  to  meet  the 
volleys  of  Gonzalez. 

De  Castro  dashed  with  his  prisoners   to  the 


IXMIQUILPAN  293 

east,  passed  out  into  the  fields,  cleared  the  left 
flank  of  Gonzalez,  and  circled  to  the  north.  As 
he  turned  toward  the  bridge,  he  saw  Craviotto 
charge  from  it  to  break  the  dam  the  Cazadores 
had  formed.  Break  or  hold,  De  Castro  had 
Felise  and  a  clear  path  !  Beside  her  he  galloped 
on.  Looking  back,  he  saw  Craviotto  strike  the 
earthwork,  break  the  line.  He  saw  the  pent-up 
Brigade  De  Castro  pour  forth  upon  the  moonlit 
road  toward  that  unguarded  bridge  which  led 
to  liberty.  And  he  himself  —  he,  with  Felise, 
would  cross  it  first ! 

He  neared  it.  Seeing  fifty  or  sixty  horsemen 
approaching  it  from  the  southwest,  he  thought 
they  were  men  of  his  who  had  escaped  from  the 
other  side  of  town. 

To  his  amazement  part  of  them  dashed  into 
the  earthwork  and  overpowered  the  few  men 
left  there  by  Craviotto.  Seizing  the  bridle  of 
Felise,  De  Castro  threw  his  whole  weight  back; 
half  stopped,  and  tried  to  turn  the  galloping 
horses. 

But  Captain  Ortiz  had  seen  Felise  —  more  im 
portant  than  many  bridges !  Before  De  Castro 
knew  it,  he  was  in  the  thick  of  a  score  of  men, 
pistols  at  his  head,  his  bridle  seized,  himself 
pulled  to  the  earth. 

Six  hundred  of  his  men  were  galloping  toward 
them.  The  Cazadores  flew  to  the  earthwork. 
The  first  shot  was  solid.  It  ploughed  down  just 
above  and  parallel  to  that  crowded,  moonlit  road. 


294  RODERICK  TALIAFERRO 

The  second  was  canister.  There  was  no  third. 
Between  impassable  rivers,  fired  at,  front  and 
rear,  with  their  own  guns,  De  Castro's  men 
threw  down  their  arms. 

"  Thank  God,  we're  free,  Felise ! "  cried  Don 
Miguel. 

"  Thank  God  !  "  breathed  she. 


VI 

MIRAMON 

BACK  into  town  with  Ortiz,  past  crowds  of 
victors  cheering  and  men  disarmed,  rode  the 
rescued  Medinas.  Through  the  shadow  of  San 
Isidro  passed  Felise.  With  a  shudder,  she  saw, 
across  the  plaza,  that  light  still  burning  in  the 
alcalde's  suite ;  but  over  it,  in  sacred  moonlight, 
hung  the  folds  of  the  griffin  flag. 

Along  the  palace  wall  stood  Cazadores  in 
silence.  Past  them,  toward  the  entrance,  was 
borne  a  litter. 

«  Who's  that  ?  "  asked  Ortiz. 

"  The  colonel,"  said  a  soldier.  "  He's  hit 
bad." 

"  Dubois  ?  "  cried  Medina.  «  Badly  hurt  ?  It 
would  be  a  pity  not  to  live  and  enjoy  the  laurels 
of  this  night !  " 

"  Dubois  is  not  here,"  said  Ortiz.  "  That  is 
Taliaferro." 

"  Taliaferro  !  "  repeated  Felise. 

The  passion  of  her  voice  shot  a  pang  to  the 
heart  of  Ortiz,  but  he  conquered  it.  «  He  rode 
wounded  to  the  fort  and  took  it,  and  sent  me  to 
the  bridge,"  said  he. 

295 


296  RODERICK  TALIAFERRO 

Felise  left  the  others  behind,  reached  the  pal 
ace  steps,  slid  from  her  saddle.  De  Castro  had 
bent  her  soul  like  a  bow,  and,  like  a  bow  released, 
it  sprang  to  Roderick.  She  ran  up  the  steps,  saw 
the  litter  carried  in,  and  felt  a  throe  of  pity  at 
the  weakness  of  the  man  whose  strength  had 
saved  her.  She  caught  the  arm  of  the  surgeon. 

"  May  I  speak  to  him  ?  "  she  asked.  "  Is  he 
badly  hurt  ?  " 

"  We  are  going  to  see,"  said  the  surgeon.  "  Are 
you  Senorita  de  Medina  ?  " 

"  Yes.  Answrer  me,  on  your  honor.  Will  he 
live  ?  " 

"  We  are  going  to  see.  He  has  asked  about 
you.  I  will  tell  him  you  are  safe." 

"  Mayn't  I  speak  to  him  ?  Would  it  do  harm 
—  just  a  moment  ?  " 

"  A  moment,  then.  The  sooner  we  get  to 
work  the  better." 

Roderick  opened  his  eyes  to  hers.  "  Felise  !  " 
he  cried,  trying  instinctively  to  lift  his  hand. 
He  turned  whiter.  "  Thank  God,  you're  safe  ! " 
he  said. 

His  unhurt  hand  was  folded  on  her  heart,  and 
her  lips  touched  it.  He  had  never  seen  or  dreamed 
of  a  gesture  so  tender.  Her  eyes  rose,  brimming 
with  gratitude  and  pity  and  love,  and  kissed  his 
soul. 

"  I  thought  you  were  killed  on  that  road,"  she 
said.  Over  her  heart  swept  and  reswept  the 
fear  that  he  would  not  live.  "  Even  if  you  no 


MIEAMON  297 

longer  love  me,"  said  she,  "even  though  you 
hate  my  sacred  things,  God  pity  me,  for  I  love 
you  more  than  God  !  " 

Her  father  was  coming  through  the  open  door 
way,  and  he  heard  those  words.  He  stopped  as 
though  a  blow  had  fallen  upon  his  head,  and 
grasped  the  arm  of  the  regimental  chaplain.  He 
drew  two  or  three  hoarse  breaths ;  and  then,  with 
an  effort  recovering  himself,  he  came  on  in. 

"  What  is  it  ?  "  asked  Roderick,  seeing  Felise 
start. 

"  Lieutenant-colonel  Taliaferro,"  began  Don 
Miguel,  in  the  tone  of  one  reciting  something 
committed  to  memory. 

"  Not  now ! "  whispered  Felise  to  her  father. 
"  For  pity's  sake,  say  nothing  now !  " 

"  I  regret  your  wound,"  said  Don  Miguel.  "  I 
congratulate  you  on  your  victory." 

«  Thank  you,  General  Medina,"  said  Taliaferro. 
"  You  are  very  good." 

« Felise ! "  said  Don  Miguel,  turning  with 
pent-up  agony  and  anger. 

"  I  must  go,"  said  she  to  Roderick.  "  The 
surgeon  granted  me  a  moment  only.  I  will  come 
back  !  "  Her  eyes  cherished  him  an  instant.  She 
went  out,  followed  by  Don  Miguel. 

The  surgeon's  knife  was  septic.  That  is  why 
pus  called  laudable  formed  where  they  cut  the 
bullet  out  of  Taliaferro's  back ;  why  fever  spread 
from  the  shattered  shoulder-blade ;  why  the  man's 


298  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

smooth-working  soul  became  like  a  ship's  engine 
whirring  a  broken  shaft. 

Arriving  with  Chona  and  her  aunt  the  day 
after  the  battle,  Sarnette  found  his  friend  deliri 
ous.  Through  Chona,  Fernand  heard  of  a  stormy 
scene.  Her  father  had  said  Felise  must  go  to 
Cazadero.  Felise  had  rebelled,  called  him  inhu 
man,  vowed  she  would  go  to  Roderick,  and  was 
locked  in  her  room.  Protesting  to  Don  Miguel, 
Sarnette  lost  his  temper  and  gained  nothing. 

The  Medinas  departed  for  Cazadero  with  three- 
fourths  of  the  troops  and  prisoners,  including  De 
Castro.  Guns,  horses,  and  arms,  the  fruits  of 
Taliaferro's  victory,  went  with  them.  Sarnette 
said  good-by  to  Chona  for  a  while,  and  remained 
with  Roderick,  who,  in  a  lucid  interval,  asked  for 
Felise. 

Rather  priding  himself  on  the  skill  of  his  lie, 
Fernand  said  the  surgeon  would  not  permit  her 
to  see  him.  The  story  seemed  successful  at  the 
time,  but  when  Roderick  wrent  out  of  his  head 
again,  he  hated  the  world,  imagined  his  fingers 
in  the  throat  of  Don  Miguel,  and  delighted  in 
the  child-thought  of  dying  to  punish  Felise. 

From  Mejia  came  an  order  to  arrest  Taliaferro 
and  send  him  to  Queretaro.  Knowing  nothing 
of  his  leader's  mutiny,  Ruiz,  who  had  been  left 
in  command  of  Ixmiquilpan,  read  the  order  with 
amazement.  The  surgeon  said,  and  Ruiz  re 
ported,  that  even  if  Lieutenant-colonel  Taliaferro 
should  recover,  he  could  not  be  moved  for  two 


MIRAMON  299 

months.  He  lay  for  a  week  between  life  and 
death.  The  crisis  passed,  and  then  his  good 
constitution  pulled  him  slowly  back  toward  life. 

Events  moved  on  without  him.  The  Brigade 
Medina  was  organized  twelve  hundred  strong  at 
Cazadero.  The  Medina  ladies  and  Don  Jose 
were  sent,  strongly  guarded,  to  the  capital,  but 
on  the  way  De  Castro  escaped.  It  was  difficult 
to  guard  a  man  so  rich.  He  went  north  and 
joined  Major-general  Escobedo. 

With  thirteen  hundred  men  Major-general 
Miramon  won  a  victory  at  Cautitlan,  south  of 
Cazadero.  He  swept  northward.  Though  the 
soil  of  Mexico  pushed  forth  insurgents  like 
mushrooms,  the  Clericals  counted  upon  Miramon 
to  show  the  Emperor  that  he  could  hold  his 
throne  without  French  bayonets.  Sarnette,  who 
had  been  appointed  adjutant  of  the  new  San 
Juan  Valley  Cavalry  Regiment,  received  orders 
from  General  Medina  to  join  it.  The  brigade 
was  going  north  with  Miramon. 

The  night  before  Sarnette  left  Ixmiquilpan, 
Taliaferro  made  him  admit  that  Felise  had  been 
kept  from  him  by  force. 

"  My  dear  fellow  !  "  exclaimed  Fernand  ;  "  if 
you  want  to  win  that  girl,  you  must  conceal 
your  hostility  to  the  church !  She  cannot  marry 
you ! " 

"  I  shall  treat  her  faith  with  respect  and  ten 
derness,"  said  Roderick,  "but  she  must  treat 
mine  so  too.  In  her  heart  that  ancient  creed 


300  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

is  innocent  as  a  child's  belief  in  fairies.  I  would 
not  take  it  from  her  —  not  to  give  her  my  own 
faith,  firmly  based  on  things  proved  true.  But 
the  church  not  only  dictates  her  belief,  it  brands 
mine  as  a  mortal  sin !  How  she  has  tortured 
her  dear  head  with  that !  It  is  for  such  malign 
inventions  I  could  choke  the  priests !  " 

"  I  don't  think  much  more  of  their  system 
than  you  do,  Rod ;  but  I  don't  cry  it  from  the 
housetops.  I  conform,  that's  all.  Why  can't 
you  ?  " 

"  You  conform  because  you  don't  think  about 
it,  Fernand.  I  do.  I  wish  their  idea  of  a 
manlike  God,  whose  wrath  they  suppose  to  be 
appeased  by  his  own  son's  blood,  could  be  swept 
from  human  consciousness.  Then  men  would 
see  that  their  own  souls,  and  Nature  which 
made  them,  are  divine,  that  God  is  to  the  world 
what  life  is  to  a  flower.  People,  just  now,  are 
aghast  at  the  idea  of  descending  from  monkeys. 
The  truth  is  far  more  profound  than  that.  We 
not  only  descend  from  apelike  beings,  but  they 
in  turn  descend,  through  countless  forms  and 
ages,  from  single,  tiny  cells.  There  is  no  one  of 
us,  Fernand,  whose  very  body  has  not,  in  the 
womb,  begun  as  such  a  cell,  and  passed,  in 
hidden  growth,  through  shapes  of  worm  and  fish 
and  beast.  This  race  of  ours,  now  man,  has 
slowly  passed  through  those  same  forms.  But 
instead  of  degrading  us,  this  divine  development 
exalts  those  baser  forms  from  which  we  come,  and 


MIRAMON  301 

which  we  ourselves  have  worn  !  Life  tends  from 
wormhood  to  manhood;  Nature  transmutes  fin 
to  hand.  That  tendency  is  God.  The  time  will 
come  when  all  men  will  look  with  their  own  eyes 
upon  this  —  the  unveiled  divinity  of  Nature  !  " 

"  I  see  it !  "  cried  Sarnette,  in  whose  mind  the 
conception  had  long  been  latent.  "  The  universe 
itself  is  God  !  It  is  all  one  beautiful  big  miracle  ! 
But  how  will  you  ever  make  Felise  see  this  ?  " 

"  Perhaps  I  cannot,"  said  Roderick.  «  I  only 
hope  her  love  of  me  may  grow  more  strong  than 
all  that  pulls  her  the  other  way." 

"  You  mustn't  excite  yourself  with  it  now," 
said  Sarnette.  "  I  shouldn't  have  let  you  talk. 
Just  the  same  I  shall  remember  that  dithyramb 
of  yours  as  my  apocalypse  of  Nature.  You  must 
sleep.  I'm  going  out  to  think.  I  won't  see  you 
in  the  morning,  so  good-by,  old  fellow.  Get 
well  soon,  come  help  us  beat  back  Juarez,  and 
may  your  hope  come  true  !  " 

"  Good  luck  to  you,  Fernand,"  said  Roderick. 

Sarnette  came  back  and  leaned  over  the  foot 
of  the  bed.  "  This  last  business  has  settled  it, 
Rod,"  he  confessed,  with  serious  feeling  beneath 
light  words.  "  The  little  girl  has  got  me.  The 
army's  going  home  —  without  me.  The  Mexican 
Empire's  going  to  the  dogs  —  with  me.  Com 
mission  thrown  up,  chances  at  home  gone,  Don 
Papa  loading  his  fortune  on  the  sinking  ship  of 
state,  yet  here  I  am !  The  idiotic,  unbelievable 
part  of  it  is  —  I'm  glad  of  it !  " 


302  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

Sarnette  departed.  Cut  off  from  action  by 
his  wound  and  the  prospect  of  court-martial, 
Roderick  brooded,  contrasting  his  friend's  happi 
ness  with  his  own  abandonment  by  Felise.  At 
least,  thought  he,  she  might  have  written,  or 
sent  a  message  through  Sarnette. 

Ruiz  dropped  in  occasionally  with  copies  of 
the  Diario  or  La  JPatria,  and  Roderick  scanned 
the  news.  The  Emperor  had  returned  from 
Orizaba.  The  archbishop  dined  with  him  in 
state  at  La  Teja.  Maximilian  was  on  the  Cleri 
cal  tack.  The  Diario  referred  to  Ixmiquilpan 
as  "  a  glorious  blow  for  the  Empire  and  the 
church  ! " 

"Is  that  the  battle  I'm  fighting?"  asked 
Roderick.  The  answer  came,  not  from  his  head, 
but  from  the  old,  bitter  bias  of  his  heart  against 
the  Yankee  Federals,  who  were  diplomatically 
throttling  the  Empire.  He  had  hoped  that 
France,  refusing  to  withdraw,  would  declare 
war  against  the  United  States. 

Even  La  Patria  had  now  given  that  up,  and 
published  a  violent  article  against  the  French, 
whose  regiments  were  leaving  daily  for  Vera 
Cruz.  General  Marquez  assumed  command  of 
the  capital,  and  clashed  with  Marshal  Bazaine. 
The  marshal  announced  that  French  soldiers  in 
Imperial  regiments  must  rejoin  their  colors  or 
be  considered  deserters.  "Pleasant  for  Sar 
nette  !  "  commented  Taliaferro.  French  customs 
officers  were  gobbling  the  receipts  at  Vera  Cruz. 


MIRAMON  303 

The  Republican  General  Escobedo  was  re 
ported  with  large  trains  and  munitions  of  war 
at  San  Luis.  From  Mexico  City  the  opera 
troupe  departed,  bag  and  baggage,  for  Havana. 
Of  Miramon  not  a  word,  though  the  hope  of 
the  Empire  was  in  him. 

From  a  courier  Ruiz  heard  that  he  had  been 
gone  from  Queretaro  three  weeks.  He  was  in  a 
country  where  the  enemy  outnumbered  him  five 
to  one.  His  communications  had  been  cut  on 
the  fifth  day.  Mejia  regarded  his  force  as  lost. 

But  the  day  Taliaferro  rose  from  his  bed, 
there  came  astonishing  news  from  Zacatecas, 
the  Liberal  capital,  four  hundred  miles  north 
west.  Miramon  had  captured  it !  When  he 
sent  his  message,  Juarez  and  his  cabinet  had 
barely  escaped,  and  were  being  pursued  by 
Imperial  cavalry. 

"  That  means  the  San  Juan  regiment ! "  cried 
Taliaferro.  "  Peredo,  Ortiz,  and  Sarnette  may 
capture  Juarez  !  The  lucky  hounds  !  " 

"  That  must  have  been  a  campaign  ! "  cried 
Ruiz,  who,  like  Taliaferro,  was  at  once  exultant 
and  desolate. 

"  The  Emperor  can  snap  his  fingers  at  the 
French!"  said  Taliaferro.  "The  moment  the 
tricolor  leaves,  he  triumphs  !  I'm  going  to  Quere 
taro,  Ruiz  —  I'm  going  to-day.  You  can  send 
as  small  an  escort  as  you  like,  or  none  at  all.  I 
give  you  my  parole  to  report  myself  to  General 
Mejia.  I  must  get  through  that  blanked  court- 


304  RODERICK  TALIAFERRO 

martial  and  on  to  Mirainon.  What  a  genius !  I 
ought  to  be  colonel  of  that  regiment  this  minute!" 

In  spite  of  the  surgeon's  protest,  Taliaferro  set 
out  for  Queretaro.  Arriving  on  the  fourth  day, 
he  drove  to  General  Mejia's  headquarters  and 
reported  himself  for  court-martial.  It  seemed  to 
him  that  "  Don  Tomasito  "  looked  cordial  for  a 
moment,  but  he  then  restrained  himself,  and 
carefully  refrained  from  any  comment  on  Ixmi- 
quilpan. 

Taliaferro  had  been  with  him  but  a  moment, 
when  a  subaltern  dashed  up  to  the  Casino  with 
news.  Without  sending  the  lieutenant-colonel 
out,  Mejia  ordered  in  the  messenger. 

"What  is  it?"  he  asked. 

"  My  General,"  said  the  dusty  subaltern,  «  Gen 
eral  Castillo  reports  Miramon  routed  ! " 

"  My  God  !  "  cried  Mejia.  "  How  did  such  a 
report  reach  Castillo?" 

"  By  courier.  Miramon  was  in  full  retreat. 
Escobedo  met  him  with  superior  force  at  San 
Jacinto,  fourteen  leagues  from  Zacatecas.  He 
lost  artillery,  baggage,  and  five  hundred  men." 

"  Has  this  been  telegraphed  to  the  capital  ? " 

"  No,  sir.  My  orders  were  to  you.  General 
Castillo  himself  reports  Herrara  advancing  from 
San  Luis,  and  asks  for  reinforcements.  The  cou 
rier  also  said  a  hundred  and  ten  Frenchmen  were 
shot  by  Escobedo  at  Tepetotes." 

"  How  strong  is  Herrara  ?  "  asked  Mejia,  seiz 
ing  pen  and  beginning  to  write. 


MIRAMON  305 

"  At  least  two  thousand." 

«  And  Miramon  ! "  muttered  Mejia.  «  What 
Frenchmen  were  those  ?  " 

"  Some  said  the  gendarmes  of  Guanajuato 
in  a  body ;  others  the  officers  and  men  with 
Miramon." 

"  I  can't  think  about  your  case  now,  Talia- 
ferro,"  said  Mejia.  "  Keep  this  quiet.  Report 
your  quarters  to  my  adjutant.  Remember  your 
arrest." 

Taliaferro  went  gloomily  out. 

In  half  an  hour  a  regiment  went  north  to  reen- 
force  Castillo,  and  a  message  had  gone  south  to 
turn  the  Emperor's  jubilation  over  Zacatecas  into 
gloom.  Maximilian  had  written  a  letter  con 
gratulating  Miramon  on  his  victory,  and  order 
ing  him  to  sentence  President  Juarez  to  death 
under  the  Black  Decree.  When  that  letter 
reached  Zacatecas,  it  was  laid  in  the  hands,  not 
of  Miramon,  but  of  Juarez,  who  read  and  — 
remembered. 

Two  days  after  Castillo's  message,  he  defeated 
Herrara,  thereby  saving  Queretaro,  and  enabling 
him  to  form  a  junction  with  Miramon.  But 
Escobedo  was  coming. 

Upon  Queretaro  converged  the  Imperial  troops. 
Mejia  had  eighteen  hundred ;  Miramon  and  Cas 
tillo  fell  back  with  twenty-four  hundred  ;  Mendez 
moved  in  from  the  west  with  four  thousand.  On 
the  thirteenth  of  February,  eight  days  after  the 
last  French  regiment  had  gone,  Maximilian  him- 


306  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

self  took  the  field,  setting  out  for  Queretaro  with 
Marquez  and  two  thousand  men. 

When  Miramon's  column  appeared  on  the 
northern  hills,  Taliaferro  drove  out  in  a  hack 
to  meet  his  friends  of  the  Brigade  Medina.  Me 
dina  himself  looked  as  though  the  terrible  cam 
paign  had  been  too  much  for  him.  Miramon 
seemed  unbroken  by  defeat.  The  Cazadores  de 
San  Luis,  under  Colonel  Gonzalez,  had  lost  a 
hundred  and  fifty  men.  They  and  the  San  Juan 
regiment,  which  was  officered  by  Taliaferro's 
old  men  and  commanded  by  Lieutenant-colonel 
Peredo,  cheered  when  they  saw  "  the  hero  of 
Ixmiquilpan."  Ortiz  was  now  commandant  of 
cavalry.  When  he  saw  Taliaferro,  whom,  in 
spite  of  jealousy,  he  idolized,  he  could  hardly 
speak. 

In  the  adjutant's  place  rode  Lieutenant  Funk. 
Taliaferro's  heart  grew  sick. 

"  Where  is  Sarnette  ?  "  he  asked. 

"  Our  right  wing  was  captured,  Colonel,"  said 
Ortiz,  sadly. 

"  Sarnette  was  captured  ?  " 

"  Yes.  He  and  Cloue  and  Delaroche  and  a 
dozen  French  subofficers." 

"  French  !  "  repeated  Taliaferro.  "  My  God, 
man,  that  Tepetotes  story  isn't  true  f  " 

"  I  fear  it  is  !  I  fear  that  not  one  Frenchman 
of  all  we  lost  that  day  is  now  alive ! " 

Taliaferro  got  into  his  hack  and  drove  back 
to  town.  "  I  won't  believe  it !  "  he  muttered  ; 


MIRAMON  307 

« not  Sarnette !  The  butchers,  the  murderous, 
vile  butchers ! " 

To  Senorita  Incarnacion  he  telegraphed  that 
Sarnette  had  been  captured.  "  Time  enough  for 
the  rest  when  we  are  sure ! "  thought  he. 

The  balconies  of  Queretaro  were  crowded  next 
day,  and  gay  with  hangings.  On  the  plain  of 
Carretas,  a  line  of  eight  thousand  men  received 
the  Emperor.  At  the  head  of  his  two  thousand 
men  he  rode  down  from  the  southern  hills  in  his 
white-plumed,  black  chapeau  and  general's  uni 
form.  The  sight  filled  his  soldiers  with  enthu 
siasm.  As  he  reviewed  them,  their  cheers  rose 
above  the  cannon  and  the  bugles  and  the  bells. 
When  he  rode  into  town  and  passed  on  foot 
from  the  Casino  to  attend  the  Te  Deum  in 
San  Francisco,  women  threw  flowers  from  every 
balcony  to  pave  his  path.  An  inexplicable, 
electric  thrill  was  in  the  air.  It  felt  like  vic 
tory  ! 

Next  morning  Lieutenant-colonel  Taliaferro 
was  summoned  to  the  Casino,  and  the  Emperor 
thanked  him  for  Ixmiquilpan. 

"  I  have  been  told,"  said  his  Majesty,  "  that 
the  good  of  the  service  demands  a  court-martial, 
but  as  for  me,  give  me  a  few  more  such  muti 
nies  !  I  have  ordered  that  trial  dismissed.  Few 
know  about  the  Dubois  affair,  and  I  do  not  be 
lieve  you  will  be  guilty  of  insubordination  in 
the  future.  Perhaps  I  appreciate  your  motives 
better  than  some  others.  I  suspect,"  he  added, 


308  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

smiling,  "  that  I  really  have  the  Countess  del 
Aguilar  to  thank  for  Ixmiquilpan." 

"  Sire,  you  have,  undoubtedly,"  said  Taliaferro. 
"Should  your  Majesty  desire  to  reward  her,  it 
could  be  done,  I  believe,  by  removing  a  certain 
prejudice  of  her  father." 

"  Isn't  that  a  private  matter,  Colonel  ?  "  smiled 
Maximilian.  "Still,"  he  added,  "I  also  have  a 
private  capacity.  I  can  at  least  show  him  that 
the  '  certain  prejudice '  is  not  shared  by  me." 

Taliaferro  withdrew  ready  to  shed  his  life- 
blood  for  the  Empire.  An  hour  later  he  received 
a  commission  as  colonel,  together  with  orders  to 
report  early  that  afternoon  to  General  Medina. 
He  supposed  the  call  would  be  severely  official. 
After  assigning  him  to  the  command  of  the  San 
Juan  regiment,  however,  the  brigadier  drew  out 
a  note. 

"  I  have  here,"  said  Don  Miguel,  "  a  request 
from  his  Majesty  to  bring  you  with  me  to  the 
council  of  war  at  three.  Permit  me  to  congratu 
late  you  upon  the  Imperial  favor." 

The  colonel  expressed  his  appreciation ;  and, 
personal  differences  in  abeyance,  the  two  went 
together  to  the  most  momentous  council  in  the 
history  of  Maximilian's  Empire. 

Besides  a  dozen  generals,  they  found  Colonel 
Arellano,  chief  of  artillery,  Colonel  Prince  Salm- 
Salm  the  ex-Federal,  and  the  Emperor's  favorite, 
Colonel  Miguel  Lopez.  His  eyes  met  Taliaferro's 
and  fell.  The  field  of  Popotla  and  a  marked 


MIRAMON  309 

pistol-butt  grew  vivid  in  the  mind  of  each. 
Arellano,  Salm-Salm,  and  Lopez  were  rival  aspi 
rants  for  general  office.  The  Emperor  nodded 
affably  to  Taliaferro. 

The  council  opened.  After  half  a  dozen  foggy 
speeches,  Miramon  rose  and  said  he  was  for  at 
tacking  Escobedo  at  once.  He  spoke  briefly,  but 
his  reasons  were  lucid  as  geometry. 

"  More  Miramonic  brilliancy  !  "  whispered  Mar- 
quez  to  the  Emperor,  and,  forgetting  the  thirty 
victories  of  Miramon,  Maximilian  remembered 
San  Jacinto,  his  one  defeat. 

"  We  have  had  enough  of  rashness  and  dis 
aster  !  "  cried  Marquez,  leaping  up  like  an  alert, 
black  cat.  His  thin  beard  only  half  concealed  a 
great  scar  on  his  chin.  He  was  small,  sinister. 
"My  advice,"  said  he,  "is  to  take  the  defensive 
in  Queretaro,  despatching  a  brigade  of  good  horse 
to  the  capital  for  reinforcements." 

Miramon  gave  an  exclamation  of  disgust. 
Looking  from  him  to  the  Emperor  and  back, 
Marquez  went  on  for  five  or  ten  minutes.  "  If 
we  move  against  Escobedo,"  he  concluded,  "he 
will  have  the  advantage,  not  only  of  numbers 
and  the  strategic  offensive,  but  of  the  tactical 
defensive.  He  can  refuse  battle  till  Corona  is 
firmly  established  behind  us  in  Queretaro.  We 
should  be  caught  between  the  upper  and  the 
nether  stone.  Instead  of  being  our  safety  and 
our  refuge,  Queretaro  would  cut  off  our  retreat." 

Miramon  sprang   up    with    flashing  eyes,  but 


310  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

Maximilian  waved  him  down  and  called  for  a 
vote.  Seeing  his  wish,  the  council  favored  the 
plan  of  Marquez.  Only  Castillo,  Vidaurri,  and 
Arellano  sided  with  Miramon.  Some  were  jeal 
ous  of  him.  Medina  voted  with  Marquez  be 
cause  he  was  untainted  with  Liberalism  ! 

"  Your  Majesty  !  "  thundered  Miramon,  "  shall 
I  be  heard  at  all  ?  " 

"  It  is  the  right  of  every  one  at  this  board," 
said  Maximilian. 

"  This  is  heart-breaking,  your  Majesty,"  cried 
Miramon.  «  Queretaro  is  not  a  stronghold,  it  is 
a  trap  !  "  He  strode  to  the  window.  "  Look  at 
these  hills  !  "  he  cried.  "  Behold  Jacal,  El  Cime- 
tario  Cuesta  China  !  East  and  north  are  Carre- 
tas,  San  Pablo,  San  Gregorio,  La  Cantera.  East 
and  north  and  south,  the  hills  enclose  this  city 
like  a  horseshoe.  Upon  them  a  besieger  may 
weld  an  iron  ring.  Down  these  slopes  that  ring 
will  close  and  crush  Queretaro.  Reinforcements 
from  Mexico !  Why  did  your  Majesty  not  bring 
them  with  you  now  ?  Because  they  are  not 
there!  Three  or  four  thousand  men  —  if  you 
wish  to  lay  bare  the  capital  to  Porfirio  Diaz  — 
what  difference  can  they  make  here !  Before 
they  arrive  we  will  be  in  the  grip  of  thirty  thou 
sand  men. 

"Escobedo's  twelve  thousand  so-called  troops 
are  five  days  north  of  us.  He  is  advancing.  On 
the  third  day  we  can  meet  and  defeat  him. 
Corona  and  his  eight  thousand  are  twelve  days 


MIKAMON  311 

west.  Twelve  days  !  Corona  does  not  exist  !  If 
we  remain  inactive  here  till  he  effects  his  junc 
tion  with  Escobedo,  he  will  exist  most  terribly ! 

"  As  plain  as  though  God's  finger  wrote  its 
<  Mene,  Mene '  on  that  wall,"  cried  Miramon,  "  I 
read  that  now,  and  never  after  now,  your  Majesty 
may  win  ! " 

Miramon  sat.  There  was  a  moment  of  deep 
silence,  then  a  murmur.  In  that  murmur  and 
that  silence,  the  Empire  was  weighing  in  the 
balance.  The  triumph  or  fall  of  Maximilian 
hung  on  his  next  word.  His  temperament 
decided  —  the  temperament  which  inevitably 
desired  to  postpone  action  till  some  vaguely 
awaited,  ideal  condition.  The  condition  had 
arrived,  but  he  could  not  see. 

"By  the  council  and  by  me,"  said  he,  "the 
solid  and  prudent  plan  of  Lieutenant-general 
Marquez  is  approved." 


VII 

MARQUEZ 

THE  twelve  days  passed ;  Corona  came.  The 
fires  of  twenty  thousand  men  were  lit  on  west 
and  north.  The  besieged  made  a  reconnoissance, 
and  were  driven  in.  The  Republicans  extended 
their  left  wing  to  the  eastern  heights,  and  cut  the 
aqueduct.  The  fight  began. 

The  enemy  attacked  the  convent  of  La  Cruz, 
and  took  the  Pantheon,  but  were  dislodged  by  a 
bayonet  charge.  Two  battalions  took  the  con 
vent  in  flank,  but  were  repulsed  with  canister. 
A  column  from  the  south  attacked  the  Alameda, 
but  was  beaten  back  by  fifty  officers  and  men 
serving  three  cannon.  On  the  north,  the  assail 
ants  pushed  down  from  San  Pablo  to  the  nearer 
hill  of  San  Gregorio,  establishing  their  lines  close 
to  the  defences.  The  Republican  loss  was  three 
thousand  men,  two-thirds  deserters. 

Two  days  later,  Miramon  prepared  to  retake 
San  Gregorio.  He  opened  at  dawn  with  eighteen 
pieces,  and  passed  along  the  lines,  filling  the  men 
with  his  resistless  ardor.  The  troops  rushed  for 
ward  to  take  the  hill.  Up  dashed  Marquez. 

312 


MAEQUEZ  313 

"  La  Cruz  is  threatened  on  the  east !  "  he  cried, 
and  ordered  Miramon  back. 

Miramon  slapped  sword  to  scabbard,  hat  to 
ground.  On  the  way  in,  he  learned  that  Mar- 
quez  had  given,  or  pretended  to  give,  credence  to 
a  false  report.  Miramon  shed  tears  of  rage. 

Three  weeks  went  by  with  indecisive  sorties 
and  attacks.  The  defenders  began  to  eat  the 
meat  of  mules. 

Colonel  Taliaferro  was  sent  by  Medina,  on 
March  22,  to  Lieutenant-general  Marquez,  who 
ordered  him  to  prepare  his  regiment  for  a  dash 
to  Mexico.  It  was  the  long-meditated  expedition 
for  reinforcements. 

That  night,  at  half-past  eleven,  Generals  Mar 
quez  and  Vidaurri,  escorted  by  Taliaferro's  regi 
ment,  Quiroga's,  and  some  fractions,  rode  out  of 
Queretaro.  Ten  thousand  fresh  Republican  troops 
closed  the  road  next  day,  but  that  night  it  lay 
open,  and  the  Imperialist  horsemen  passed  with 
out  a  fight.  Avoiding  the  main  road,  they  passed 
by  way  of  La  Colmena,  wiped  guerillas  from 
their  path,  eluded  the  pursuit  of  four  thousand 
hostile  cavalry,  and  on  the  fifth  morning  arrived 
before  the  city  of  Mexico. 

Their  approach  caused  great  excitement.  Some 
thought  they  were  the  flying  wreck  of  the  Em 
peror's  army,  others  that  they  were  the  advanced 
guard  of  a  triumph. 

The  troops  went  into  quarters.  Marquez  estab 
lished  himself  in  the  National  Palace.  Aides  bus- 


314  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

tied  in  and  out  with  orders.  Bulletins  announced 
that  Marquez  assumed  supreme  power,  supersed 
ing  Minister  Lares  as  Lieutenant  of  the  Empire. 
General  Vidaurri  replaced  Campos,  Minister  of 
Finance.  Two  other  ministers  were  ousted. 
Recruiting  squads  poured  forth  from  barracks. 
Two  thousand  citizens  and  peons  were  seized. 
Horses  were  taken  on  the  streets.  Three  quarters 
of  a  million  pesos  were  raised.  Traffic  ceased, 
shops  closed,  pleasure-seeking  ended.  Fear  of 
Marquez  reigned. 

Belted  and  spurred,  Colonel  Taliaferro  went  to 
the  Calle  de  Medinas.  He  had  no  time  to  play 
bear.  He  knocked  and  asked  for  Seiiorita  Medina. 

"  She  is  at  mass,  Excellency,"  said  the  con 
cierge. 

Roderick  went  to  the  Cathedral.  By  the  chapel 
near  the  Sagrario,  white  violets  upon  her  black 
gown,  kneeling  as  when  to  him  she  was  the  un 
known  Sefiorita  of  the  Coach,  he  found  Felise. 
While  she  was  still  unconscious  of  his  presence, 
he  stood  beside  her,  loving  her,  reproaching  her, 
remembering  all. 

Amazement  swept  her  quiet  soul  when  he 
spoke  her  name.  "  You ! "  she  exclaimed  joy 
fully,  and  yet  with  undertones  of  grief  and  fear. 
She  looked  around. 

"  What  is  it,  Felise  ?  "  he  asked  ;  "  what  do  you 
fear?" 

"  I  was  praying  for  you,  Don  Roderick,"  she 
said.  "  What  has  happened  in  Quere'taro  ?  " 


MARQUEZ  315 

"  Neither  victory  nor  defeat.  We  are  going 
back.  You  were  kept  from  me  by  force  in 
Ixmiquilpan.  But  no  line,  no  message  of  fare 
well —  after  that  night  —  why  have  you  again 
turned  from  me  ?  " 

"To  shun  a  doom  beside  which  death  is 
nothing ! " 

"  Has  your  father  dared  —  " 

"  It  is  not  he.  No  matter  what  I  did,  he'd 
give  his  life  to  save  me  from  — " 

"  Me  ?  "  asked  he,'  as  she  paused. 

"  No,  no  !  " 

«  Tell  me,  Felise." 

"  Don't  make  me  !  " 

"  Has  the  padre  forbidden  you  to  see  me  ?  " 

"  Archbishop  La  Bastida  gives  that  penance  for 
my  sin." 

"  What  sin  ?  "  demanded  he. 

"  Blasphemy.  The  chaplain  heard  me  that 
wild  night  when  my  soul  was  crazed  with  fear 
of  losing  you  in  death  !  " 

"  Do  you  call  that  sin  ?  Words,  words  —  there 
was  no  sin  !  Do  you  not  yourself  feel  that  what 
love  made  you  say  that  night  is  sinless  ?  " 

"  Do  you  remember  what  you  said  as  you  lay 
sick  ?  "  asked  she.  "It  gave  me  hope  that  you 
had  seen  the  truth.  You  thanked  God,  Roder 
ick,  for  my  safety  !  " 

"  A  form  of  speech,  Felise.  Emotion  sends 
that  phrase  to  a  man's  lips.  Do  you  mean  to 
keep  that  penance  ?  " 


316  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

"  I'm  breaking  it  now,"  said  she.  "  I'm  risk 
ing  more  than  life  to  talk  to  you." 

"  Oh,  Goldenheart !  "  cried  he  ;  "  there's  that  in 
you  the  archbishop  cannot  crush." 

"  Don't,  don't !  "  she  cried. 

"  I  will  go  home  with  you,"  he  said,  changing 
his  tone.  "  Our  time  is  brief." 

Going  toward  Santo  Domingo,  he  told  her  of 
Tepetotes  and  Sarnette. 

"  Poor  Chonita  !  "  sighed  Felise. 

They  agreed  she  should  not  be  told  till  there 
was  no  more  hope. 

To  cheer  her  Roderick  told  Felise  how  the 
Emperor  thanked  the  Countess  del  Aguilar  for 
Ixmiquilpan. 

"  Did  his  Majesty's  note  have  much  effect  on 
my  father  ?  "  asked  she. 

"  Yes,"  said  he.  "  Don  Papa  forgot  himself 
and  verged  on  cordiality."  He  noticed  that  his 
little  fling  at  Don  Papa  was  not  resented.  Lock 
ing  her  up  had  been  bad  for  Don  Miguel's  influ 
ence.  Roderick  did  nothing  to  rekindle  the 
flame  of  filial  piety. 

He  was  leading  toward  the  all-important  thing 
when  he  saw  a  squad  of  soldiers  about  the  door 
of  the  Medina  house.  He  hastened  to  them,  de 
manding  what  it  meant.  A  sergeant  said  his 
captain  was  upstairs,  and  Taliaferro  went  up. 

The  captain  was  demanding  ten  thousand  pesos 
of  the  weeping  and  terrified  Dona  Casilda,  who 
protested  she  did  not  have  it  and  could  not  raise  it. 


MARQUEZ  317 

Followed  by  Felise,  Roderick  entered  the  re 
ception  room,  saluted  the  astonished  Dona  Ca- 
silda,  and  turned  to  the  captain. 

"  What  is  this,  sir  ?  "  he  asked. 

"  This  is  public  business,"  said  the  captain, 
defiantly. 

"  In  the  first  place,"  said  Colonel  Taliaferro, 
"  salute  me  !  " 

The  captain  looked  at  him  and  saluted. 

Taliaferro  returned  the  courtesy. 

"Just  the  same,"  said  the  captain,  "you  will 
find  out  if  you  interfere  with  my  business." 

"  What  is  your  authority  for  entering  this 
house  ?  " 

"  It's  higher  than  yours,"  sneered  the  captain. 
"  Sergeant !  "  called  he,  stepping  to  the  door. 

"  Senora  Prado,"  said  Taliaferro,  ignoring  the 
threat,  "has  this  officer  made  a  demand  upon 
you  for  money  ?  " 

"  Yes,  senor,  but  it  is  impossible.  Ten  thou 
sand  pesos  !  Impossible  !  " 

"  Has  he  showed  you  an  order  for  this  sum  ?  " 

"  Alas,  yes  ! " 

"  Kindly  ask  him  to  show  it  again." 

The  senora  asked,  and  the  captain  wrathfully 
handed  her  an  official  document.  Taliaferro 
glanced  at  it.  The  sergeant  appeared  at  the  door 
with  three  or  four  men. 

"  You  need  pay  no  attention  to  this  order, 
Senora  Prado,"  said  Taliaferro. 

"  Until  attention  is   paid,  the   people   of   this 


318  KODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

house  will  not  leave  it,"  said  the  captain,  beckon 
ing  to  the  sergeant. 

"  You  see,  senora,"  said  Taliaferro,  "  that  this 
order  is  signed  by  Del  Campos.  He  is  no  longer 
Minister  of  Finance." 

"  What !  "  ejaculated  the  captain. 

"  I  have  one  piece  of  advice  for  you,"  said 
Taliaferro  ;  "  yes,  two.  One  is  to  salute  superi 
ors  at  all  times.  The  other  is  to  leave  this  house 
at  once." 

"  This  order  was  signed  last  night,"  said  the 
captain,  snatching  it. 

"  This  morning  you  will  have  to  have  the  sig 
nature  of  General  Don  Santiago  Vidaurri,  Min 
ister  of  Finance,"  said  Taliaferro. 

"  We  will  see  about  this,"  muttered  the  cap 
tain  as  he  went  out. 

"  Is  this  true,  senor  ?  "  exclaimed  Dona  Casilda. 

"  Most  certainly,  senora." 

"  Colonel  Taliaferro  would  not  say  so,  Dona 
Casilda,"  remarked  Felise,  serenely.  "  Now  see 
what  a  man  he  is ! "  said  her  manner. 

"  But  won't  this  horrible  captain  get  an  order 
from  the  new  minister  ?  "  asked  the  dona. 

"  I  will  see  General  Vidaurri  at  once,"  said 
Taliaferro.  "  After  all  General  Medina  has  done, 
—  lavished  treasure,  risked  his  life,  —  this  is  a 
shameful  outrage  !  Vidaurri  will  never  permit 
it." 

Dona  Casilda  expressed  eternal  gratitude. 
There  were  times  when  Colonel  Taliaferro  was 


MARQUEZ  319 

a  convenient  person.  He  asked  Felise  to  be 
on  her  balcony  that  evening,  and  went  to  see 
Vidaurri. 

In  one  of  the  patios  of  the  palace  he  met 
Peredo  and  Ortiz,  and  asked  what  news. 

"Good  news  from  Quer6taro,"  said  Ortiz. 
"  Riva-Palacio  arrived  with  ten  thousand  men, 
attacked,  and  was  repulsed  —  lost  three  thou 
sand  ! " 

"  Hurrah  !  "  cried  Taliaferro.  "  When  our  six 
thousand  strike  their  rear  and  Miramon  comes 
out,  there'll  be  a  broken  siege  ! " 

"  Haven't  you  heard  about  Puebla  ?  "  asked 
Peredo. 

«  No." 

"  We're  going  there,  instead  of  to  Queretaro." 

"  By  all  these  worlds  of  God,  what  for  ?  " 

"  General  Noriega  says  he  can't  hold  out  two 
weeks." 

"  He  must  hold  out ! "  exclaimed  Taliaferro. 
"We  must  relieve  Queretaro  !  " 

Peredo  shook  his  head. 

"  Where  did  you  hear  it  ?  "  asked  Taliaferro. 

"  Quiroga  had  it  direct  from  headquarters." 

Taliaferro  knew  Marquez  was  ordered  to  sac 
rifice  even  the  capital  to  save  Queretaro.  His 
distrust  of  Marquez  deepened.  "  Well,"  said 
he,  "  it's  not  our  business,"  and  went  to  find 
Vidaurri. 

Del  Campos  was  turning  over  his  office.  When 
Taliaferro  reported  the  outrage  on  the  family 


320  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

of  Medina,  Vidaurri  asked  Campos  what  it 
meant. 

Campos  explained  that  it  was  an  error  —  a 
secretary's  error.  Vidaurri  gave  orders  that  no 
houses  whatever  should  be  entered  by  tax-officers. 
He  was  himself  compelled  to  practise  extortion, 
but  devised  measures  at  once  politer  and  more 
successful.  Taliaferro  was  assured  that  the 
Medinas  would  be  exposed  to  no  more  official 
insults. 

The  rest  of  the  day  the  colonel  helped  organ 
ize  recruits.  There  were  more  than  eight  thou 
sand  men,  but  barely  three  thousand  soldiers. 
Many  were  like  the  "  ten  pairs  of  chained  volun 
teers." 

In  the  evening  Taliaferro  had  an  inspiration, 
went  to  the  Calle  de  Medinas,  and  called  on 
Dona  Casilda.  What  could  be  more  proper  ?  It 
was  necessary  to  convey  Vidaurri's  assurance  of 
safety.  He  was  received  by  Felise.  When  the 
seiiora  entered  the  room,  the  girl's  cheeks  were 
rosy.  Besides  that,  Felise  had  told  him  that  she 
and  Chona  were  going  in  the  morning  to  the 
Alameda. 

In  the  morning  Peredo  did  Taliaferro's  work. 
Felise  and  Chona  left  their  carriage  on  the  San 
Francisco  side  of  the  Alameda.  Roderick  met 
them  by  the  fountain  in  the  first  glorieta,  and 
Chona  interested  herself  in  the  talk  of  Pepita. 
The  glorious  old  grove  was  almost  deserted,  the 
life  of  the  city  being  stagnant.  A  distant  bugle 


MAKQUEZ  '321 

sounded  now  and  then,  and  sometimes  sweet  old 
church-bells  rang. 

It  was  a  golden  hour  in  iron  days,  —  on  sun 
shine-checkered  walks,  and  stone  seats  gray  with 
moss,  amid  opening  buds,  and  the  rapture  of 
perfumed  spring. 

Roderick  said  it  would  be  a  beautiful  day  for 
a  wedding. 

There  were  some  irrelevant  remarks,  and  then 
he  said  it  would  be  a  beautiful  day  for  their 
wedding.  She  said  she  wished  it  were.  He 
suggested  that  they  be  married  that  night.  She 
alleged  a  distaste  for  improvisation  in  weddings. 
He  yielded  a  point  and  argued  for  the  next  day. 
She  told  him  of  the  long  and  not-to-be-hastened 
ceremonies  of  bans  and  betrothal.  "  Besides," 
she  said,  "  you  cannot  secure  dispensation.  No 
priest  can  marry  you  to  me." 

The  fascinating  topic  was  rudely  interrupted 
by  the  footman,  who  ran  up  shouting  that  sol 
diers  were  taking  their  horses. 

"  Stay  here  1 "  exclaimed  the  colonel ;  and 
hurrying  to  the  street,  he  found  the  bay  horses 
unharnessed.  He  had  never  realized  till  then 
his  powers  of  expression  in  Spanish,  and  ran  out 
of  expletives  only  when  the  soldiers  finished  re- 
harnessing.  The  lieutenant  who  had  ordered  the 
seizure  talked  about  a  duel. 

The  colonel  returned  to  the  ladies,  who 
learned  with  relief  that  their  horses  were  still 
theirs.  But  before  Roderick  could  create  again 


322  KODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

the  proper  atmosphere,  Chona  said  it  was  time 
to  go. 

Living  in  his  dream,  Roderick  walked  toward 
his  quarters.  He  felt  that  if  he  could  only  shape 
the  means  to  marriage,  Felise  was  his. 

With  a  shock  he  discovered  marching  orders 
—  time,  that  afternoon ;  destination,  not  given. 
His  regiment  was  brigaded  with  the  Fifth 
Cavalry  and  the  fractions  from  Queretaro. 
Dashing  off  a  note  to  Felise,  Roderick  was 
compelled  to  wrench  his  mind  from  the  thought 
of  her. 

He  called  on  Colonel  Fuera  of  the  Fifth  for 
orders.  Finding  that  officer  to  be  his  junior, 
Colonel  Taliaferro  went  to  Marquez,  and  in 
formed  him  of  the  mistake.  Marquez  glowered, 
and  said  he  had  no  time  to  investigate  seniority. 
Taliaferro  replied  that  he  had  himself  investi 
gated  it,  and  it  was  as  he  had  the  honor  to 
state.  Marquez  declined  to  discuss  it,  and  dis 
missed  his  subordinate. 

The  slight  redoubled  Taliaferro's  dislike  and 
distrust.  It  proved  the  general  a  boor  and  a 
tyrant,  but  not  a  traitor.  Taliaferro  thought 
him  the  latter  also.  He  privately  expressed  his 
opinion  to  his  friends,  Peredo,  Ortiz,  and  McBur- 
ney.  Peredo  was  overawed  by  the  lieutenant- 
general's  rank. 

"  Marquez  is  not  Dubois,"  he  said  to  Ortiz. 

For  Taliaferro,  however,  Ortiz  and  McBurney 
would  have  conspired  in  hell  against  Satan. 


MARQUEZ  323 

When  Taliaferro  suspected  Marquez  of  playing 
false,  that  settled  it.  They  would  prove  it. 

Four  thousand  men  marched  out  of  Mexico 
that  afternoon,  not  toward  Queretaro,  but  over 
the  plains  of  Apam  toward  Puebla.  Through 
all  their  nine  days'  march  Marquez  was  watched. 
Taliaferro  knew  who  his  couriers  were,  his  secret 
messengers,  his  spies,  whence  they  came,  whither 
they  were  going.  His  information  led  to  noth 
ing,  but  still  he  felt  there  was  something  wrong. 

Twelve  leagues  from  Puebla,  Marquez  learned 
from  diligence  passengers  that  Diaz  had  stormed 
the  town  the  night  before.  The  forts  of  Guade 
loupe  and  Loreto  still  held  out.  That  was  on  the 
second  of  April.  On  the  third,  Marquez  pushed 
on  slowly  with  much  reconnoissance.  On  the 
fourth,  he  made  a  wide  detour  to  come  in  on 
the  side  of  the  forts.  On  the  fifth,  he  advanced 
with  still  more  caution.  On  the  sixth,  he  learned 
the  forts  had  fallen. 

That  afternoon  his  retreat  was  precipitate. 
Diaz  was  coming.  The  cavalry,  which  had  pur 
sued  Marquez  from  Queretaro,  attacked  his  col 
umn,  but  were  beaten  off,  and  for  two  days  the 
march  was  unmolested.  The  day  after  that  they 
destroyed  a  brigade  that  came  from  Toluca  to 
cut  off  their  retreat.  At  San  Lorenzo  Marquez 
halted  and  formed  for  battle,  but  Diaz  began  a 
turning  movement,  showed  his  intention  of  keep 
ing  on  to  Mexico,  and  Marquez  retired. 

He    camped    that    night    a   league    from    San 


324  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

Cristobal.  The  San  Juan  regiment  established 
the  pickets  of  the  rear  guard. 

At  half-past  ten  Taliaferro  was  summoned  to 
headquarters  to  attend  a  council  of  war.  Re 
turning  from  a  reconnoissance,  Count  Kheven- 
hiiller  reported  the  bridges  cut  on  the  Mexican 
road.  The  council  decided  to  pass  by  way  of 
Texcoco,  throwing  the  wagons  and  artillery  into 
a  deep  barranca.  To  avoid  demoralizing  the 
troops,  this  was  done  under  cover  of  night. 

At  half-past  twelve,  Taliaferro  was  roused  by 
Lieutenant  McBurney. 

"  Picket  Five  has  stopped  a  man,"  he  said.  "  I 
wish  you'd  see  what  you  think  about  him." 

"  What  is  he  ?  "  asked  Taliaferro,  rubbing  his 
eyes. 

"  Says  he  has  messages  to  Marquez.  Dressed 
like  a  cheap  merchant." 

«  Where  from  ?  " 

"  First  he  said  Puebla,  then  Vera  Cruz." 

"  Any  papers  ?  " 

"  Couldn't  find  any." 

"  Let  him  go  to  Marquez.    Overhear  if  you  can." 

In  half  an  hour  McBurney  came  back.  "  I 
sent  him  up,"  he  said.  "  I  couldn't  hear  their 
talk,  but  Marquez  gave  him  a  papelito  despatch. 
Do  you  want  it  ?  " 

"  Do  you  think  it's  worth  having  ?  " 

"  Something  queer  about  that  man." 

"  We'll  take  a  chance,"  said  Taliaferro. 
"  Where  is  he  now  ?  " 


MARQUEZ  325 

"  He's  going  back  to-night.  A  squad  of  mine 
will  bring  him  out  through  Picket  Number 
Four." 

"It  won't  do  for  our  pickets  to  hold  him 
coming  from  Marquez,"  said  Taliaferro.  "  Get 
Ortiz,  and  we'll  stop  him  ourselves  beyond  the 
lines." 

The  three  officers  passed  the  sentries,  and 
waited  to  waylay  the  confidential  agent  of 
their  general.  Out  in  the  night  a  horse  whin 
nied. 

"  What's  that  ?  "  whispered  Ortiz. 

"  Do  you  suppose  that's  his  horse,  Mac  ? " 
asked  Taliaferro. 

«  Might  be.     Shall  I  see  ?  " 

"Yes.  If  it's  a  picketed  horse,  we'll  wait  by 
it.  It  may  be  a  party.  Don't  get  yourself 
nabbed." 

McBurney  disappeared  in  the  darkness.  In 
three  or  four  minutes  the  horse  neighed  again. 

"  Same  place,"  said  Taliaferro. 

"  Why  should  he  leave  his  horse  out  there  ?  " 
asked  Ortiz. 

"  Give  it  up,"  said  Taliaferro. 

"  Won't  it  be  a  little  awkward  if  this  papelito 
turns  out  to  be  all  right  ?  If  we  give  it  back 
and  turn  him  loose  after  reading  it,  what  will 
he  think?" 

"  What  he  likes,"  said  Taliaferro.  «  He's  blind 
fold  before  we  strike  a  light.  All  I  fear  is  —  " 

They  heard  Picket  Four  challenge. 


326  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

"  He's  coming  ! "  said  Ortiz. 

"  Wish  we  were  sure  about  that  horse,"  mut 
tered  Taliaferro. 

«  What  shall  we  do  ?  "  asked  Ortiz. 

"  Go  on  toward  McBurney.  I'll  let  the  man 
pass,  and  follow  him.  Don't  shoot  if  you  can 
help  it." 

Ortiz  moved  off.  Coming  from  camp,  a  man 
passed  within  fifteen  or  twenty  yards  of  Talia 
ferro,  who  rose  and  followed.  It  was  wise  to 
get  farther  away  from  camp,  but  what  was 
ahead  ?  They  were  going  over  ploughed  ground. 
Once  more  came  the  neigh  of  the  horse.  The 
man  altered  his  course  —  toward  the  sound. 
Beyond  him,  Taliaferro  could  see  dark  masses 
of  big  cacti  against  lighter  soil.  One  looked 
like  a  group  of  men  on  horseback,  but  aware  of 
the  tricks  imagination  plays  a  man  in  darkness 
and  danger,  Taliaferro  kept  on.  The  man  made 
straight  for  the  shadowy  horsemen.  He  disap 
peared.  There  was  risk  of  losing  him.  In 
among  the  maguey  there  was  the  glad  little 
whinny  a  horse  gives  when  he  is  to  be  untied. 
Taliaferro  ran  toward  the  sound  to  keep  the 
man  from  mounting. 

There  was  a  plunge,  a  struggle,  a  yell  ending 
in  a  gurgle,  and  then  Taliaferro  found  Ortiz  and 
McBurney  sitting  on  the  prostrate  messenger  of 
Marquez.  Informing  him  that  one  more  yell 
meant  death,  Ortiz  released  his  throat.  Talia 
ferro  gagged  and  blindfolded  him.  They  took 


MARQUEZ  327 

him  deeper  into  the  maguey,  and  striking  wax 
matches,  found  the  papelito  despatch.  Taliaferro 
read  it. 

"  V.  y  R. : 

"  Can  do  nothing  without  his  actual  presence. 
Have  communicated  with  B.  and  T.  He  will  be 
received  in  Vera  Cruz.  When  Queretaro  falls, 
B.  and  T.  will  pronounce,  and  I  as  soon  as  they. 
Count  on  all  padres,  LB.  is  with  us.  Regret 
Liberals  have  taken  Puebla,  as  it  cuts  com 
munication,  but  I  guarantee  to  hold  capital  a 
month  longer  than  Queretaro.  If  necessary,  can 
cut  out  of  Mexico,  cooperate  against  Puebla, 

then  back  together.     God  and  Order. 

«  M." 

Who  or  where  "  V.  y  R."  was,  or  the  unnamed 
"he,"  Taliaferro  did  not  know,  nor  who  were 
the  "B."  and  "T."  of  Vera  Cruz.  But  « LB." 
was  La  Bastida  plain  as  day.  Who  else  controlled 
"  all  padres  "  ?  Like  a  flash  it  occurred  to  Rod 
erick  that  this  might  put  the  archbishop  in  his 
power.  That  would  well  serve  his  private  end. 
But  the  very  fate  of  Mexico  depended  on  that 
cigarette  paper,  for  through  its  obscurity  shone 
the  treacherous  purpose  of  Marquez  to  let  the 
Emperor  fall  and  then  "  pronounce  "  for  some  one 
else. 

"  Well  ?  "  said  Ortiz,  waiting  for  orders. 

"Stick  your  sword  through  him,"  said  Talia 
ferro.  Ortiz  rose  and  drew  the  weapon.  "  Wait 


328  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

a  minute,"  said  Taliaferro.  "  See  what  he  has 
to  say."  Ortiz  untied  the  gag. 

"  In  God's  name,  who  are  you  ?  "  gasped  the 
messenger. 

"  Immaterial,"  said  Taliaferro.    "  Who  are  you  ?  " 

«  Pablo  Valdes  of  Vera  Cruz." 

«  Who  is  V.  y  R.  ?  " 

"  I  do  not  know,"  said  the  man. 

"Run  your  sword  through  him,"  said  Talia 
ferro. 

"  Though  you  kill  me,  I  cannot  tell  who  this 
man  is,"  protested  the  prisoner.  "  I  was  to  mail 
that  papelito  to  one  Senor  Vidal  y  Rivas  in  New 
York,  but  who  he  is  I  do  not  know." 

«  What  address  ?  "  asked  Taliaferro,  quickly. 

«  El  Astor  House." 

The  man  seemed  trying  to  save  his  life  with 
truth.  He  said  he  had  brought  a  papelito  to 
Marquez  from  General  Taboada,  commanding 
Vera  Cruz.  That  settled  «  T."  As  to  "  B."  there 
was  no  clew.  Leaving  the  messenger  bound  and 
gagged,  Taliaferro  and  his  officers  returned  to 
camp. 

Marquez  must  be  hurled  from  power  and 
brought  to  justice,  but  it  took  power  to  do  it. 
The  most  obvious  step  was  to  lay  the  damning 
papelito  before  General  Tabera,  commanding  the 
Second  Corps.  But  if  Marquez  was  disloyal, 
why  not  Tabera  ?  In  the  morning,  Taliaferro 
intended  to  talk  with  that  general,  feel  his  way, 
and  find  out  where  he  stood. 


MARQUEZ  329 

There  was  no  time  for  that  in  the  morning. 
The  troops  discovered  the  destruction  of  the 
artillery,  and  grew  panicky.  Cavalry  attacked 
them  in  the  hills.  More  and  more  demoralized, 
they  pushed  toward  Mexico.  The  tenth  battalion 
surrendered  to  fifty  horsemen.  The  rest  of  the 
infantry  was  saved  only  by  tremendous  exertions. 

When  the  column  descended  into  the  valley 
of  Mexico,  it  wTas  one  grand  pell-mell  of  foot, 
horse,  women,  and  mules.  The  enemy  made  an 
attack  on  their  right.  A  moment  later  a  body 
of  hostile  cavalry  was  seen  issuing  from  the  town 
of  Texcoco  below  them. 

Dropping  everything,  Marquez  called  a  squad 
ron  of  Quiroga's  regiment,  cut  through  the  hostile 
cavalry,  and  galloped  off  to  Mexico.  His  flight 
seemed  to  insure  disaster,  but  Hammerstein's 
Austrian  foot,  the  hussars  of  Khevenhiiller,  and 
the  San  Juan  regiment  remaining  intact,  Colonel 
Kodolich  took  command,  beat  back  the  enemy, 
and  restored  a  semblance  of  order.  Next  day  at 
noon  two  thousand  men  reached  Mexico,  where 
Marquez  had  arrived  the  night  before. 

Disregarding  the  papelito's  claims  to  undivided 
attention,  Roderick  galloped  to  the  house  of  Fe- 
lise,  in  the  Calle  de  Medinas.  Hearing  him  ride 
up,  she  looked  from  the  mirador,  where  she  had 
stood  the  day  her  father  tried  to  talk  in  French 
to  Taliaferro. 

"I  must  see  you,  Felise,"  said  Roderick,  in 
tones  that  left  no  doubt. 


330  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

She  made  him  a  sign  to  enter,  and  came  down 
into  the  patio. 

"  The  army  is  routed,"  said  he.  "  The  capital 
will  be  besieged.  I  have  discovered  a  secret 
which  Queretaro  must  know,  but  first  there 
must  be  desperate  doings  here.  Fortune  has 
given  me  power  to  play  a  game  that  may  yet 
save  all,  but  no  man  knows  what's  coming  to  the 
Empire.  Things  look  black.  Another  month 
may  bring  the  fall  of  Maximilian." 

"  That  means  my  father's  ruin,  perhaps  his 
death  !  "  cried  she. 

"  You  must  face  the  possibility,"  said  he.  "  I 
want  the  right  to  take  you  through  the  storm. 
You  women  have  no  business  here  alone.  That 
day  in  the  Alameda  you- spoke  of  bans,  betrothal, 
dispensation.  To-night,  unless  all  fails,  Arch 
bishop  La  Bastida  will  do  whatever  I  demand." 

"  How  is  it  possible  ?  "  she  asked. 

"  You  will  see.     Hark  !  " 

East  of  the  city  a  cannon  boomed. 

"  Diaz  is  coming  ! "  he  cried.  "  I  must  act  at 
once  !  Felise,  beloved,  tell  me  this.  The  times 
are  desperate,  sweet  —  things  rush  toward  some 
thing  no  man  can  see.  If  I  come  back  to-night 
with  all  the  bars  between  us  down  —  what  will 
you  do,  Felise,  what  will  you  do  ?  " 

The  eyes  of  the  girl  seemed  filled  with  a  great 
light ;  she  drew  her  breath  and  held  it,  her  head 
sank  back  a  little,  and  for  the  moment  the  man 
forgot  the  guns  of  Diaz.  "  Roderick,"  said  she, 


MARQUEZ  331 

"  the  hope  you  hold  me  seems  too  dear,  too  bright, 
but  if  it's  true  —  " 

«  Yes  ?  "  breathed  he. 

"If  the  bars  are  really  down,  —  I  will  be  your 
wife  to-night." 

"  Till  to-night,  Felise,  beloved,"  he  exclaimed, 
kissing  her  passionately,  "  till  to-night." 

Taliaferro  flew  to  ex-Minister  Lares  and  forced 
an  immediate  interview. 

"  What  would  you  do  if  Marquez  proved  un 
faithful  ?  "  was  the  sum  of  his  question. 

"  I  am  no  longer  his  Majesty's  lieutenant," 
was  the  sum  of  Lares's  answer,  and,  leaving  him, 
Taliaferro  went  to  Vidaurri.  If  he  failed,  the 
pillared  firmament  was  rottenness. 

At  the  colonel's  request  for  absolute  privacy, 
Vidaurri  led  him  to  an  inner  room,  and  closed 
the  door. 

"  General  Vidaurri,"  said  Taliaferro,  "  the  ques 
tion  may  sound  strange,  but  are  you  heart  and 
soul  for  Maximilian  ?  " 

"  I  have  lived  fifty-one  years,"  said  Vidaurri, 
haughtily,  "  and  my  honor  is  now  first  questioned." 

"  That  is  why  I  come  to  you.  But  before  I 
make  you  a  revelation  involving  the  very  exist 
ence  of  the  Empire,  I  wish  to  hear  you  say  you 
are  for  it  and  for  nothing  else.  I  do  not  ask  if 
you  are  for  the  Clerical  cause,  but  —  " 

"  I  have  sworn  to  defend  the  Empire,  sir.  I 
am  trustworthy.  If  you  have  such  a  revelation, 
it  is  your  duty  to  lay  it  before  Lieutenant-gen- 


332  RODERICK  TALIAFERRO 

eral  Marquez,  and  not  before  the  Minister  of 
Finance." 

"  The  revelation,"  said  Taliaferro,  "  is  that 
Lieutenant-general  Marquez  is  a  traitor ! " 

"  Marquez  !  "  exclaimed  Vidaurri.  "  What 
foundation  can  you  have  for  such  a  charge  ?  " 

"  Do  you  know  his  handwriting  ?  " 

«  Well." 

Taliaferro  drew  out  the  all-important  cigarette 
paper,  stepped  close,  and  turned  the  writing  to 
Vidaurri. 

"  Who  is  V.  y  R.  ?  "  asked  Vidaurri. 

"  Vidal  y  Rivas,"  said  Taliaferro. 

"  Vidal  y  Rivas ! "  exclaimed  Vidaurri,  with 
sudden  interest.  The  name  had  evidently  a 
significance  hidden  from  Taliaferro.  Vidaurri 
read  with  agitation.  Instinctively  he  reached 
for  the  paper,  but  Taliaferro  retained  it. 

"  Your  suspicions  are  an  insult ! "  exclaimed 
Vidaurri. 

"  After  this ! "  cried  Taliaferro,  slapping  the 
papelito  with  the  back  of  his  forefinger,  "  who 
shall  be  trusted  ? " 

"  You  are  right,"  said  Vidaurri.  «  It  is  terri 
ble.  Where  did  you  get  this  ?  " 

«  From  a  messenger  of  Marquez." 

"  It  bears  no  address,"  said  Vidaurri.  «  How 
was  it  to  reach  the  secretary  of  Santa  Anna  ?  " 

The  name  of  the  old  Clerical  dictator  flashed  rev 
elation  to  Taliaferro's  mind.  "  It  would  have  been 
mailed  to  New  York  from  Vera  Cruz,"  he  replied. 


MARQUEZ  333 

«  Who  are  B.  and  T.  ?  " 

«  T.  is  Taboada,"  said  Taliaferro. 

"Then  B.  is  Bureau,  Prefect  of  Vera  Cruz," 
said  Vidaurri ;  "  Taboada,  Bureau,  La  Bastida, 
Marquez  —  God  knows  how  many  more  !  The 
Emperor  is  lost !  " 

"Do  you  intend  to  do  anything?"  asked 
Taliaferro. 

"  For  the  moment  I  cannot  grasp  the  terrible, 
the  unexpected  situation.  I  must  reflect.  Have 
you  a  plan  ?  " 

"  Arrest  or  kill  Marquez.  Put  some  one  who 
is  faithful  in  his  place.  You  yourself  are  the 
only  one  I  can  suggest.  I  saw  Lares,  and  he's 
a  coward.  O'Horan  is  more  unprincipled  than 
Marquez.  Tabera  fled  from  the  field." 

"  I  do  not  know  whom  to  trust,"  said  Vidaurri. 
"  There's  no  telling  how  far  this  has  gone.  Per 
haps  a  majority  of  the  Clerical  leaders  are  ready 
to  leave  the  Empire's  sinking  ship,  like  rats,  to 
launch  once  more  the  Clerical  Republic  of  ten 
years  ago.  They  will  fail.  But  to  us,  to  Maxi 
milian,  their  attempt  means  ruin  !  " 

"  My  regiment  is  sure,"  said  Taliaferro.  "  The 
Austrian  regiments,  the  best  troops  in  the  city, 
are  sure.  Perhaps  Quiroga  is." 

"  Quiroga  is  sure,"  said  Vidaurri,  "  but  who 
else  ?  " 

Taliaferro  did  not  know.  These,  he  said,  were 
enough  to  seize  Marquez,  and  establish  Vidaurri 
in  his  place. 


334  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

"  Hear  that !  "  exclaimed  Vidaurri.  The  Re 
publican  cannon  were  booming  in  the  environs. 
"  Can  five  regiments  overturn  the  ruling  power, 
and  at  the  same  time  beat  back  Diaz  ?  " 

"  They  can  try,"  said  Taliaferro. 

"  By  heaven,  Colonel  Taliaferro,"  exclaimed 
Vidaurri,  "  you  are  true  stuff !  We  will  try  !  " 

"  Marquez  is  here  now,"  said  Taliaferro. 
"The  palace  is  guarded  by  Moreno's  squadron 
of  Quiroga.  Secure  their  cooperation.  My  regi 
ment  is  ordered  to  move  this  afternoon  from  La 
Viga  to  the  defence  of  San  Cosme.  I  will  lead 
them  past  the  palace  in  an  hour.  I  will  tell  Ham- 
merstein,  Kodolich,  and  Khevenhiiller.  When 
my  regiment  appears,  have  Moreno  seize  Mar 
quez.  I  will  surround  the  palace,  sending  men 
to  seize  O'Horan  in  the  Municipal  Palace,  and 
La  Bastida  in  the  Archiepiscopal." 

"  Would  you  seize  the  archbishop  himself  ?  " 
asked  Vidaurri. 

"  Shall  a  mitre  protect  a  traitor  ?  "  demanded 
Taliaferro.  "  When  we  have  Marquez,  you  can 
send  your  proclamation  to  each  colonel.  They 
can  leave  their  regiments  fighting,  and  come 
personally  to  the  palace.  I  will  be  here  with 
the  papelito.  My  regiment  and  Quiroga's  will 
be  the  only  ones  not  on  the  defences." 

"  It  is  taking  desperate  chances,"  said  Vidaurri. 
"  If  the  regiments  march  in  to  rescue  Marquez, 
Diaz  will  take  the  city." 

"Marquez  has  taken  the  city!"  cried  Taliaferro. 


MARQUEZ  335 

«  You  are  right !  "  exclaimed  Vidaurri.  «  I 
will  see  Moreno  now,  and  send  for  Minister 
Lacunza  to  sign  with  me  the  proclamation. 
When  you  arrive  with  your  men  in  the  Plaza  de 
Armas,  watch  this  window.  If  I  am  ready  to 
seize  Marquez,  I  will  make  this  sign.  If  not, 
so." 

"  Good,"  said  Taliaferro,  and  went  to  his 
regiment. 

The  stroke  of  state  was  planned,  the  quickest 
ever  made,  even  in  that  long  palace  wrhere  sev 
enty  governments  had  been  overthrown  much 
as  Taliaferro  and  Vidaurri  planned  to  overthrow 
Marquez. 

As  Roderick  reached  his  regiment  in  the 
eastern  suburb  of  the  city,  an  aide  dashed  up 
with  most  urgent  orders  to  hasten  his  move 
ment  to  the  west.  Diaz  had  swung  his  troops 
around  and  was  coming  in  on  Chapultepec.  The 
Austrian  regiments  had  already  gone  to  oppose 
him.  Taliaferro  was  unable  to  secure  their 
support  in  advance,  but  felt  that  any  moment 
would  suffice  to  turn  those  loyal  officers  against 
Marquez. 

The  San  Juan  regiment  galloped  in  column 
through  the  streets  leading  to  the  heart  of  the 
city.  Taliaferro  confided  only  in  Ortiz  and 
McBurney.  One  was  to  seize  O'Horan,  the 
other,  La  Bastida.  The  regiment  reached  the 
palace,  and  turned  at  the  trot  into  the  Plaza 
de  Armas.  Moreno's  guards  were  at  the  door. 


336  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

Taliaferro's  gaze  shot  to  the  window  of  Vidaurri. 
There  he  stood,  and  made  a  sign  —  the  wrong 
one  ! 

Taliaferro  swore. 

Halting  the  regiment,  he  dashed  into  the 
palace,  and  up  to  Vidaurri's  suite. 

"  What's  wrong  ?  "  he  demanded. 

"Moreno  is  with  us,"  said  Vidaurri,  "but 
before  we  could  seize  Marquez  he  left  for  San 
Cosine,  drawn  there  by  the  Republican  attack." 

"  Failed  !  "  cried  Taliaferro.     "  What  now  ?  " 

"  Go  on  to  San  Cosme*.  Come  to  my  house 
to-night.  Perhaps  it  is  better.  We  will  have 
time  to  form  our  party  and  perfect  details." 

A  moment  later,  Taliaferro  was  flying  west 
ward  at  the  head  of  his  regiment.  That  day 
the  stroke  of  state  would  not  be  made,  the 
archbishop  would  not  be  in  Taliaferro's  power, 
and  Taliaferro  would  have  no  dispensation  to 
wed  Felise. 

In  San  Cosine",  the  regiment  formed  line  under 
fire  and  charged.  Diaz  was  beginning  a  siege, 
not  an  assault,  and  at  sunset  his  troops  drew 
back  toward  Tacubaya. 

The  west  flamed  red ;  the  weirdness  of  dusk 
between  opposing  armies  came  down  upon  fields 
where  men  lay  dead  and  dying,  their  faces 
touched  with  the  young  moon's  light.  Patrols 
moved  out ;  pickets  were  established ;  the 
wounded  brought  in  through  the  trenches ; 
bivouac  fires  were  lit. 


MARQUEZ  337 

In  the  heart  of  the  darkening  city  waited 
Felise. 

From  the  saddle,  Taliaferro  gave  his  orders 
for  the  night,  and  then  called  Ortiz  and  Mc- 
Burney. 

"  Go  to  the  house  of  Vjdaurri,"  he  said.  "  Wait 
there,  and  say  I  will  come  in  half  an  hour." 
First  of  all,  he  meant  to  let  Felise  know  what 
had  happened. 

Some  one  came  galloping  fiercely  from  the  city. 

"  What  can  that  be  ?  "  said  Taliaferro. 

He  rode  a  little  forward  to  see,  and  to  his 
amazement,  met  Vidaurri. 

"  Thank  God,  I  found  you ! "  exclaimed  the 
general.  "  Marquez  knows  our  plans  !  " 

"  Knows  them  !  "  cried  Taliaferro,  overwhelmed 
by  the  sudden  ruin. 

"  Some  one  of  those  I  trusted  has  betrayed 
us,"  said  Vidaurri.  "  I  escaped  over  the  azotea. 
Listen  !  They're  coming  for  you  !  "  The  gallop 
of  cavalry  was  audible  on  the  cobblestones  of 
San  Cosme.  "  Can  we  get  through  the  lines  of 
Diaz  ?  "  asked  Vidaurri. 

"  You  can,"  said  Taliaferro.  "  Ortiz  !  "  he  cried. 
Ortiz  came.  Taliaferro  handed  him  his  pocket- 
book.  "All's  lost  here,"  he  said.  "Ride  to 
Queretaro,  and  lay  that  papelito  in  the  Emperor's 
hands." 

"  Aren't  you  coming  ?  "  cried  Vidaurri,  aghast. 
"  What  earthly  good  can  you  do  here  ?  Marquez 
will  have  you  shot !  " 


338  RODERICK    TALIAFERRO 

"  Colonel  Taliaferro  !  "  exclaimed  Ortiz,  «  you 
shall  not  stay  here  !  I  know  why  you  want  to. 
You  may  not  know  it,  but  I  love  her  too.  You 
have  no  right  to  jeopardize  her  safety,  and  that 
is  what  you'll  do  if  you  go  there  proscribed ! " 

"  Come,  man,  come  !  "  cried  Vidaurri. 

The  horsemen  of  Marquez  burst  into  view. 

Even  then  Taliaferro  could  have  ridden  in  by 
another  street  and  gone  to  the  house  of  Felise, 
but  saw  with  bitter  clearness  that  Ortiz  was 
right.  To  go  from  her  after  her  intoxicating 
promise  was  a  bitter  thing,  but  not  to  go  was 
deadly  peril  for  himself  and  her. 

"  Come  !  "  he  exclaimed. 

The  four  unsuccessful  conspirators  turned  their 
horses  through  the  trenches  and  rode  away  into 
the  darkening  night. 


VIII 

THE    SIEGE    OF    QUERETARO 

FOUR  nights  later,  Taliaferro,  Ortiz,  and  McBur- 
ney  approached  Quer6taro.  Vidaurri  had  left 
them  and  gone  to  a  hacienda  west  of  Mexico. 

It  was  necessary  to  abandon  their  horses,  and 
Taliaferro  took  a  sad  farewell  of  Thetis.  The 
three  men  tried  to  slip  in  alongside  the  Mexican 
road,  but  were  challenged,  and  ran  back  under 
fire. 

Making  a  long  detour,  they  came  in  from  the 
northwest,  where  there  was  no  road  and  the  vigi 
lance  less  sharp.  Clouds  alternately  revealed  and 
hid  the  moon,  around  which  there  was  a  great 
circle.  Inside  the  circle  a  bright  star  looked  like 
a  hit  marked  on  a  mighty  target.  On  hands  and 
knees,  the  three  approached  a  line  of  sentries. 
Two  met  and  talked  in  low  tones.  The  Imperial 
ists  were  close  enough  to  learn  that  their  old  friend 
De  Castro  was  in  command  of  that  brigade. 
When  the  sentries  walked  down  their  posts,  the 
three  glided  like  Indians,  silent  and  unseen,  over 
the  very  spot  where  the  two  had  stood.  The 
moon  came  out  suddenly,  and  they  lay  motion 
less.  Capture  meant  spy's  death  for  them,  and 

339 


340  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

exquisite  satisfaction  to  the  commander  of  that 
brigade.  Another  cloud  darkening  the  moon,  they 
crept  on,  and  found  themselves  among  the  tents 
of  sleeping  enemies. 

They  rose,  and  walked  on  as  though  they  were 
simply  Republicans.  There  was  a  light  in  a  large 
tent.  A  sentinel  walked  in  front  of  it. 

"  Brigade  headquarters  !  "  murmured  McBurney. 

They  looked  in  as  they  passed.  There  indeed 
was  De  Castro  talking  with  a  man  whose  back 
was  turned  toward  the  door. 

"  If  he  only  knew  wrho's  here ! "  whispered 
Ortiz. 

"  That  red-haired  man  looked  like  Miguel  Lo 
pez,"  said  Taliaferro,  as  they  passed  on. 

They  traversed  the  camp  in  safety.  In  the 
moonlight,  they  saw  the  eminence  of  La  Cruz 
ahead,  and  black  against  the  sky  the  steeple  of 
the  convent  church.  Between  them  and  the 
friendly  hill  was  a  heavy  guard  line. 

Coming  from  camp,  they  counted  on  getting 
close  without  exciting  suspicion.  They  ap 
proached  talking,  even  laughing  —  a  final  test  of 
nerve.  They  followed  a  path.  They  saw  an 
adobe  wall  ahead.  A  sentinel  turned  toward 
them,  listening  and  watching.  Their  hearts  beat 
hard. 

"  Halt ! "  rang  the  challenge.  "  Who  goes 
there  ?  " 

"  Officer  of  the  day,"  lied  Taliaferro,  promptly, 
and  obeyed  the  ensuing  summons  to  advance. 


THE   SIEGE  OF   QUERETAEO  341 

He  was  ten  feet  from  the  soldier,  when  the  latter 
plainly  saw  his  uniform,  and  gave  a  cry.  The 
three  made  a  rush,  vaulted  the  wall,  and  ran  for 
life.  Rifles  rang,  and  bullets  went  "  chug  !  "  into 
the  hill,  but  the  fugitives  gained  the  shadow, 
and  climbed  up  to  the  walls  of  the  garden  of 
La  Cruz. 

They  were  hailed  by  Imperial  sentinels.  A 
moment  later  they  were  helped  up  through  an 
embrasure  and  were  in  Queretaro. 

The  Emperor  dressed  hastily  to  receive  the 
news  from  Mexico.  For  ten  days  he  had  been 
listening  for  the  guns  of  Marquez  behind  the  hills. 
Taliaferro  broke  his  news  as  gently  as  he  could, 
but  it  came  to  the  Emperor  like  the  announce 
ment  of  a  loved  one's  death.  Marquez  routed, 
Marquez  besieged !  Just  God !  Marquez  was 
the  only  hope  of  those  black  days !  But  Mar 
quez  a  traitor !  No,  he  would  not  believe  it ! 

Taliaferro  laid  the  frail,  and  yet  so  weighty 
papelito  in  the  sovereign's  hand,  answered  his 
questions,  slew  his  hopes. 

"  What  now  ?  "  groaned  Maximilian,  when  con 
viction  forced  itself.  "  My  God,  what  now  ?  " 

For  the  moment,  his  mind  leaned  limply  on 
Taliaferro's,  but  the  colonel  could  suggest  nothing 
better  than  to  cut  their  way  out  and  gain  the 
still  loyal  hills. 

The  Emperor  clutched  at  the  idea  then,  but  next 
day  went  back  to  the  futile  hope  of  help  from 
Mexico.  To  the  diminutive  lion,  Prince  Salm- 


342  KODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

Salm,  newly  a  brigadier,  he  confided  five  hun 
dred  cavalry  and  the  impossible  mission  of  cut 
ting  out  of  Queretaro,  into  Mexico,  deposing 
Marquez,  and  returning  with  an  army.  The 
Prince  tried  it  that  night,  but  failed  to  get  out 
of  Queretaro. 

The  second  day  after  his  arrival,  Taliaferro 
passed  at  sunset  through  the  Plaza  de  San  Fran 
cisco.  Now  and  then  a  Republican  cannon 
boomed  out  on  the  hills.  Shells  fell  in  the  city, 
now  near,  now  far.  At  some  distance  from  a 
group  of  staff-officers,  the  Emperor  was  walking 
up  and  down  in  meditation.  He  returned  Talia- 
ferro's  salute  absent-mindedly,  but  roused  himself 
and  called  the  colonel  back. 

"  I  neglected  to  caution  you  the  other  night  to 
tell  no  one  about  that  papelito,"  he  said. 

"  I  have  told  no  one,  your  Majesty,"  said  Talia 
ferro. 

"  How  about  your  two  companions  —  the  men 
you  say  were  of  such  assistance  ?  " 

"  Ortiz  and  McBurney  have  said  nothing,"  re 
plied  Taliaferro. 

The  Emperor  looked  relieved.  "  And  the  in 
vestment  of  Mexico,"  he  said.  "  News  of  that 
would  only  dishearten  the  troops." 

"We  were  aware  of  it,  your  Majesty,  and 
though  our  friends  are  eager  for  news,  we  have 
said  nothing." 

"  Deception  is  now  a  military  necessity  of  the 
highest  importance,"  continued  the  Emperor. 


THE   SIEGE  OF   QUER^TARO  343 

"  General  Miramon  has  formed  a  plan  which 
will  gain  us  the  advantage  here,  but  the  troops 
must  maintain  confidence.  For  these  reasons, . 
Colonel,  you  will  be  quoted  to-night  as  saying 
certain  hopeful  things  about  the  southern  situa 
tion.  I  must  request  you  not  to  deny  them." 

"  I  understand,"  said  Taliaferro.  As  he  spoke, 
there  was  a  whiz  and  explosion  behind  him,  and 
a  shell  had  torn  up  the  pavement. 

Maximilian  eyed  it  coolly. 

"  I  fear  the  enemy  has  information  of  your 
Majesty's  habitual  presence  here  at  this  hour," 
said  Taliaferro.  "  Now  that  gun  has  the  range, 
it  would  be  better  for  you  —  " 

"  Ah,  Colonel  Taliaferro,"  said  Maximilian, 
sadly,  "  it  might  be  better  for  me  and  for  every 
one  if  I  had  stood  upon  that  spot ! " 

A  couple  of  staff-officers  advanced  and  sug 
gested  that  the  Emperor  withdraw  to  La  Cruz. 
The  whole  suite  gathered  and  urged  him  not  to 
expose  himself. 

Maximilian  drew  a  green  ribbon  from  his 
pocket.  "  This,"  said  he,  "  is  the  first  opportu 
nity  I  have  had  of  publicly  recognizing  an  im 
portant  secret  service.  I  take  pleasure,  Colonel 
Taliaferro,  in  placing  on  your  breast  the  ribbon 
of  the  Order  of  Guadeloupe.  I  will  attach  the 
golden  cross  when  General  Marquez  comes.  He 
is  to  bring  a  fresh  supply  from  Mexico." 

Before  Taliaferro  could  reply  there  was  the 
explosion  of  another  shell,  and  from  its  pedestal 


344  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

the  statue  of  the  Marques  del  Aguilar  fell  shat 
tered.  Exclamations  broke  from  the  Emperor's 
entourage. 

"  Too  bad  !  "  said  the  Emperor.  "  It  was  one 
of  the  best  works  of  art  in  the  country." 

Renewing  their  protests,  the  officers  persuaded 
the  Emperor  to  leave  the  plaza,  shook  hands 
rather  hastily  with  Taliaferro,  and  went  up  the 
street  leading  to  La  Cruz. 

That  night,  bells  rang  and  bugles  blew  in 
Queretaro,  as  though  at  some  glad  tidings.  An 
attack  upon  the  enemy  was  ordered  at  dawn. 
Colonel  Taliaferro,  it  was  reported,  had  ridden 
on  ahead  of  Marquez,  bringing  word  that  his 
army  would  fall  at  that  hour  upon  the  enemy's 
rear. 

Taliaferro's  friends  congratulating  him  upon 
his  ribbon,  he  invited  half  a  dozen  to  a  supper 
next  evening. 

"  To-morrow  night,"  mused  he,  listening  to  the 
bells,  "  I  will  be  called  the  biggest  liar  in  Quere*- 
taro." 

Having  been  assigned  to  act  as  adjutant  of 
Mejia's  cavalry  division,  he  worked  most  of  the 
night  to  prepare  the  troops  for  the  great  sortie. 

Before  dawn,  thirteen  battalions  and  twenty 
guns  were  massed  on  the  southern  defences. 
With  the  first  gray,  they  moved  to  the  attack. 
Before  them  a  green  Republican  regiment  gave 
way.  The  regiment  on  its  right  was  flanked 
and  broke.  Up  into  the  gap  ploughed  the  Im- 


THE   SIEGE   OF   QUERETARO  345 

perial  troops.  The  crest  of  El  Cimetario  was 
swept  bare,  the  divisions  Riva-Palacio  and  Marti 
nez  demoralized,  the  whole  southern  half  of  the 
enclosing  horseshoe  battered  out  of  shape.  The 
hills  were  covered  with  white-bloused  dead. 
The  Imperialists  captured  six  hundred  prison 
ers,  vast  stores  of  munitions,  and  twenty-two 
guns. 

"  Ah,  Colonel,"  exclaimed  Ortiz,  meeting  Talia- 
ferro  in  the  Republican  trenches,  "  if  Marquez 
were  here  now  !  " 

"  We  don't  need  him  ! "  cried  Taliaferro,  who 
was  exultant  over  the  recapture  of  his  mare. 
"  If  you  officers  will  check  that  looting  and  form 
the  troops,  we  will  smash  the  whole  Chinaco 
army  before  night !  " 

At  10  A.M.  one-third  of  it  was  already  smashed, 
and  half  its  guns  were  gone.  Unfortunately,  the 
Imperial  regiments .  were  disorganized  by  their 
own  victory.  The  plain  was  covered  with  sol 
diers  and  civilians  dragging  in  the  booty  and  the 
guns.  From  the  hill,  they  could  see  the  Em 
peror's  white  plume.  Wherever  it  went  rose 
wild  cheers  and  acclamations. 

Meanwhile,  however,  the  best  troops  of  Esco- 
bedo  swung  round  from  the  north,  and  the 
routed  divisions  formed  behind  the  hills.  By 
night  the  iron  band  was  welded  back  in  place. 

Nevertheless,  the  besieged  had  shown  their 
strength,  heightened  their  morale,  augmented 
their  resources,  and  crippled  the  enemy's  artillery. 


346  RODERICK  TALIAFERRO 

That  night  they  celebrated.  At  the  Red  Eagle 
Tavern,  Taliaferro,  in  honor  of  his  Guadeloupe 
ribbon,  was  paying  for  a  goat.  There  were  also 
brown  beans,  mangos,  rice-pudding,  and  —  rare 
luxury  —  there  was  bread.  Though  pulque  filled 
the  first  glass,  and  tequila  the  second,  there  was 
real  wine  for  the  third. 

Dr.  Basch,  the  Austrian  who  had  dressed 
Taliaferro's  arm  at  the  bull-fight  and  was  now 
the  Emperor's  physician  in  ordinary,  Prince  Salm- 
Salm,  and  two  Viennese  officers,  not  being  invited 
to  the  banquet,  sat  at  another  table  eating  boiled 
mule,  with  whist  for  dessert. 

For  their  benefit  the  guests  of  Taliaferro 
gloated  over  their  superior  fare. 

"  How  succulent !  "  said  Gonzalez. 

"  What  a  flavor ! "  said  Funk. 

"  It  takes  imagination  to  eat  artillery  mule," 
said  Ortiz.  "  One  is  served  skin  and  bones  and 
one  imagines  the  meat." 

"  Why  are  the  dogs  of  Queretaro  so  plump  ?  " 
demanded  little  Prince  Salm-Salm,  slapping  down 
an  ace. 

"  Is  it  a  conundrum  ?  "  asked  Dr.  Basch. 

"  Give  it  up,"  said  his  partner. 

"  No,"  said  the  prince;  "haven't  you  noticed  it  ?  " 

«  Well,  why  is  it  ?  " 

"  There  are  three  thousand  dead  men  out  be 
tween  the  lines,"  said  the  prince,  loudly.  "  There's 
nothing  else  to  eat.  What  should  the  poor  dog 
do?" 


THE   SIEGE   OF   QUERETARO  347 

"  That  is  true,"  said  Dr.  Basch.  "  I  have  seen 
it.  It  is  not  pretty.  The  sound  of  the  crunching 
is  was  Grassliches  !  " 

"I'm  not  blaming  the  dog,"  said  Salm-Salm, 
"especially  the  dog  who  takes  fresh  ones.  But 
these  rascally  butchers,  and  these  rascally,  high- 
priced  inn-keepers,  sell  these  fat  dogs  for  goat !  " 

The  banqueters  looked  grave.  One  turned 
pale,  another  sniffed.  The  whist  players  laughed 
maliciously. 

"  It's  weeks,"  insisted  the  prince,  "  since  this 
town  had  a  goat  that  said  <  Ba  ! '  " 

"  Maybe  this  one  said  <  Bow-wow  ! '  "  remarked 
McBurney,  passing  his  plate,  "  but  he  tastes  good, 
and  I  will  thank  you  for  another  slice  of  the 
goat." 

The  others  did  not  rise  to  the  occasion.  Ques 
tioning  the  inn-keeper,  Taliaferro  met  with  eva 
sive  replies. 

"  There's  no  suspicion  about  the  wine ! "  he 
cried,  and  ordered  enough  to  fill  a  goatskin. 

The  banquet  grew  lively,  and  the  whist  party 
was  drawn  into  it.  Things  were  at  their  height 
when  two  peons  entered  the  Red  Eagle.  Their 
beards  were  ragged,  their  jackets  torn  and  dirty. 
The  inn-keeper  ordered  them  out  of  the  house, 
but,  declining  the  invitation,  they  walked  in  on 
the  banqueters.  Astonished  glances  were  thrown 
at  them,  and  vacant  bottles  were  about  to  follow. 

"  Give  us  a  drink,"  said  one  of  the  peons. 
The  next  instant  a  chair  fell  over,  and  the 


348  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

peon's  dirty  jacket  was  being  squeezed  against 
a  new  ribbon  of  Guadeloupe. 

"  Sarnette  !  "  exclaimed  some  one.  Every  one 
jumped  up. 

"  Sarnette  and  Cloue  !  The  devil !  How  are 
you  ?  We  thought  you  were  dead  !  How  did  you 
get  away  ?  Where's  Delaroche  ?  Weren't  you 
shot  at  Tepetotes  ?  " 

"  Yes,"  said  Sarnette,  replying  to  eleven  simul 
taneous  questions.  "  Waiter,  bring  us  a  beef 
steak." 

"  A  what ! "  exclaimed  one. 

"  What  is  a  beefsteak  ?  "  demanded  another. 

Somebody  claimed  to  have  seen  one  once  in 
Mexico. 

"Tell  us!  What  did  you  do?  Didn't  they 
get  you  at  San  Jacinto  ?  Did  you  escape  ?  " 

"  We're  hungry,"  said  Cloue. 

"  Damned  hungry,"  said  Sarnette. 

So  they  returned  from  the  jaws  of  death. 
With  Delaroche  they  were  captured  at  San 
Jacinto.  Cloue  escaped  that  night.  Three  days 
later,  Sarnette  and  Delaroche  stood  on  the  field 
of  Tepetotes  in  one  of  the  "groups  of  ten." 
Sarnette's  audience  grew  sober. 

"  What  happened  ?  "  asked  they,  breathless. 

"My  companions  fell  dead  and  dying,  while  I, 
untouched,  fell,  simulating  death.  Stained  and 
shielded  by  warm  corpses,  I  survived  successive 
volleys,  and  lay  on  that  terrible  field,  limp, 
bloody,  motionless.  Poor  Delaroche !  They 


THE   SIEGE   OF   QUERETARO  349 

threw  us  into  a  trench,  and  he  stayed  there.  I 
met  Cloue  afterward  at  the  hacienda  where  we 
got  these  togs.  We  dodged  Chinacos  for  a 
month,  and  here  we  are." 

"A  living  man  who  knows  how  it  feels  to 
die  !  "  said  Dr.  Basch. 

"  Sarnette  is  the  one  survivor  of  a  hundred 
and  nine,"  said  Cloue. 

"  What  made  the  butchers  do  it  ? "  asked 
Prince  Salm-Salm. 

"  Because  Bazaine  proclaimed  us  Frenchmen 
deserters  !  "  cried  Sarnette.  "  Deserters  !  France 
deserted,  we  were  true !  Tepetotes  is  the  fruit 
of  that  decree  ! " 

There  was  a  chorus  of  assent,  but  the  subject 
was  quickly  dropped.  Some  one  discovered  that 
Sarnette  and  Cloue  made  them  thirteen. 

"  That's  lucky ! "  cried  Joachim  Rodriguez, 
colonel  of  the  Municipal  Guard.  "  One  dies 
within  the  year.  But  for  this  it  would  have 
been  half  of  us  !  "  . 

"  That's  six  and  a  half,"  remarked  a  critic, 
gravely. 

Next  week,  before  the  yellow  walls  of  the 
Garita  de  Mexico,  whither  he  had  gallantly 
charged,  Rodriguez  was  shot  through  the  heart. 
His  men  brought  back  the  body,  and  it  was 
interred  in  the  Church  of  the  Congregation,  the 
coffin  being  lowered  to  the  sound  of  distant 
cannon. 

The  siege  went  on  and  on.     The  enemy  pene- 


350  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

trated  only  once  those  long,  thinly  garrisoned 
lines.  That  was  on  the  fifth  of  May,  when, 
celebrating  all  day  the  anniversary  of  the  French 
defeat  at  Puebla,  two  drunken  northern  regi 
ments  decided  to  take  Queretaro.  They  crossed 
the  bridge  of  Rio  Blanco,  stormed  the  inner 
works,  and  held  them  two  hours. 

But  starvation,  typhoid,  gangrene,  and  deser 
tion  were  the  enemies  which  did  the  work. 
Mule  and  horse  meat,  rice,  maize,  and  beans  were 
almost  exhausted,  fruit  trees  stripped,  bread  all 
gone.  Butchers  offered  Taliaferro  large  sums  for 
Thetis,  gaunt  soldiers  eyed  her  hungrily.  Finally 
even  he,  who  loved  her  almost  like  a  human 
being,  put  from  him  with  difficulty  the  horrible 
temptation  —  the  thought  of  her  flesh  as  food. 

In  the  hot,  vitiated  air,  with  little  sleep  and 
less  food,  men  lost  the  feeling  of  reality,  and 
seemed  to  themselves  to  be  living  in  some  long, 
bad  dream.  In  the  tenth  week  they  knew  that 
before  the  eleventh  was  done  the  siege  must  end. 
But  how  ?  The  soldiers  still  believed  Marquez 
would  come. 


IX 

LOPEZ 

IT  was  the  twelfth  of  May.  Seventy  sunsets, 
since  the  siege  began,  had  crimsoned  the  sky 
behind  the  Hill  of  Bells.  Bugles  blew  and  lights 
went  out.  The  starving  town  grew  silent.  On 
its  edges,  sentinels  began  their  lonely  vigils. 

From  the  garden  of  La  Cruz  an  Imperial  offi 
cer  slipped  across  the  road,  descended  the  hill, 
followed  a  path,  and  was  challenged  at  an  adobe 
wall.  He  was  blindfolded,  and  led  to  the  tent 
of  General  De  Castro. 

"  I  bear  a  message  from  the  Emperor  to  Gen 
eral  Escobedo,"  said  Colonel  Miguel  Lopez. 

De  Castro  took  him  to  headquarters. 

"  Taliaferro  is  back  from  Mexico,"  said  Lopez, 
on  the  way.  "  He  came  through  your  lines  with 
news  of  Marquez." 

"  I  am  glad  to  hear  it,"  said  De  Castro.  "  I 
shall  enjoy  taking  the  gentleman  prisoner." 

"  Don't  be  too  sure  of  us,"  warned  Lopez. 

Escobedo  was  roused,  and  received  the  Impe 
rial  envoy.  The  Emperor  offered  to  surrender 
not  only  Queretaro,  but  Mexico  and  Vera  Cruz, 
and  pledged  himself  to  abdicate  forever.  The 

351 


352  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

one  condition  was  amnesty.  No  Imperialist, 
native  or  foreign,  civil  or  military,  was  to  lose 
life,  liberty,  or  property.  The  Emperor  was  to 
have  safe  conduct  to  the  coast. 

Putting  the  bars  of  his  steel  spectacles  over 
his  enormous  ears,  Escobedo  stared  wisely  at 
Lopez.  At  first  he  gave  no  direct  answer, 
attempting  to  secure  information  as  to  "the 
intentions  of  the  besieged.  Pinned  down  to 
yes  or  no,  he  said  the  supreme  government 
authorized  no  terms  but  unconditional  sur 
render. 

Lopez  asked  him  to  communicate  the  proposed 
terms  to  his  government. 

Escobedo  declined.  "  On  this  point,"  he  said, 
"  my  orders  are  repeated,  explicit,  and  final." 

The  interview  closed,  and  Lopez  returned  with 
Don  Jose. 

"  The  refusal  of  amnesty  is  unfortunate  for 
you  personally,  Don  Miguel,"  said  De  Castro. 

"  How  so  for  me  ?  "  asked  Lopez. 

"  You  have  enforced  the  Black  Decree,"  said 
De  Castro.  "  You  wear  the  Iron  Cross.  The 
Liberals  have  not  forgotten  why." 

"  In  case  of  surrender,"  said  Lopez,  who  had 
betrayed  a  Liberal  army  to  the  French  five  years 
before,  "  I  feel  I  have  the  right  to  count  on  your 
friendship,  Don  Jose." 

"  My  influence  will  be  insufficient  to  save  you, 
Don  Miguel." 

Lopez,  walking  blindfold,  felt  in  his  soul  the 


LOPEZ  353 

fear  of  death.  "Suppose  — "  he  began,  and 
stopped. 

«  Well  ?  "  said  De  Castro. 

"The  Emperor  will  never  surrender  uncon 
ditionally,"  he  said.  "But  if  I  were  assured 
that  he  would  be  permitted  to  escape  with  one 
of  my  squadrons  —  " 

"  Well  ?  " 

"  I  am  in  command  of  La  Cruz." 

"  You  are  in  command,  whether  or  no.  For 
such  a  service  the  Liberals  would  forget  your 
Iron  Cross.  I  guarantee  it." 

"  I  refuse  to  sacrifice  the  Emperor,"  said 
Lopez. 

"  Very  well,  then,"  said  De  Castro.  "  Sacri 
fice  yourself  if  you  enjoy  it." 

"  Escobedo  cannot  officially  allow  the  Em 
peror  to  leave,"  said  Lopez.  "  But  suppose  you 
surprise  La  Cruz,  and  in  the  darkness  arid  con 
fusion  the  Emperor  escapes  ?  Why  not  ?  " 

"Escobedo  will  not  agree  to  it,"  said  De 
Castro. 

"  Ask  him,"  said  Lopez.  "  What  difference 
does-  it  make  ?  The  Emperor  will  leave  the 
country.  The  Republic  will  be  spared  the  em 
barrassment  of  deciding  his  fate.  I  warn  you 
this :  Unless  Escobedo  makes  this  arrange 
ment  with  me,  he  will  wake  up  some  morning 
to  find  a  hole  in  his  line,  with  army  and  Em 
peror  safe  in  the  sierra.  My  way,  city  and 
army  are  his,  the  Emperor  Maximilian  abdicates, 


354  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

and  the  Archduke  Ferdinand  Maximilian  sails 
from  our  shores  forever  !  " 

"  Wait  here,"  said  De  Castro,  impressed. 
Leaving  Lopez  under  guard,  he  went  back  to 
Escobedo.  In  half  an  hour  he  returned. 

"  Deliver  the  convent  of  La  Cruz,"  he  said, 
"  and  Maximilian  shall  pass  out  of  it  in  safety. 
There  are  houses  in  Queretaro.  They  will  not  be 
searched  to-morrow.  To-morrow  night  you  shall 
have  a  passport  for  yourself  and  one  companion. 
No  questions  will  be  asked.  Do  you  accept  ?  " 

"  Is  this  Escobedo's  offer  ?  "  asked  Lopez. 

"  No,"  said  De  Castro,  "  it  is  mine." 

"  Will  it  be  open  still,  to-morrow  night  ?  " 

"  I  do  not  know,"  said  De  Castro  ;  "  it  is  open 
now." 

Lopez  pondered.  "  I  must  see  the  Emperor 
first,"  he  said  at  last. 

"  Don't  be  a  fool,"  said  De  Castro.  "  Maxi 
milian  will  be  glad  afterward  that  you  did  it, 
but  he  makes  too  much  of  a  pose  of  honor  to 
consent  in  advance." 

"  I  must  take  him  Escobedo's  answer,"  said 
Lopez.  "I  may  come  back  to-morrow  night." 

"  If  you  value  your  own  life,  Don  Miguel, 
accept,"  was  De  Castro's  final  word. 

To  the  Emperor,  waiting  in  La  Cruz,  Lopez 
returned  with  Escobedo's  answer.  Face  to  face 
with  his  sovereign,  Lopez  found  it  impossible 
even  to  hint  at  the  dishonorable  proposal  he  had 
been  on  the  verge  of  accepting.  It  seemed  like 


LOPEZ  355 

some  wild  dream,  real  in  the  night,  impossible 
next  day. 

The  Emperor  summoned  a  council  of  generals 
next  morning,  and  they  agreed  Queretaro  could 
not  hold  out  five  days.  It  was  surrender  or  cut 
through.  They  voted  to  cut  through.  The 
Emperor  approved.  At  midnight  the  troops 
were  to  move.  Miramon  rejoiced,  for,  in  that 
midnight  battle  as  he  had  planned  it,  he  knew 
the  bulk  of  the  army  would  gain  the  freedom 
of  the  hills. 

That  night  when  the  council  reassembled, 
Mejia  begged  for  twenty-four  hours  more.  He 
had  been  enrolling  the  inhabitants,  and  said  that 
with  one  more  day  to  arm  and  organize,  the 
citizens  would  hold  the  defences  while  the 
troops  fought  their  way  out.  The  delay  was 
granted. 

At  ten,  next  night,  the  generals  met  once 
more.  The  Imperial  treasure  was  divided  be 
tween  Miramon,  Castillo,  Arellano,  and  Lopez. 
Miramon  awaited  only  the  arrival  of  Mendez 
before  unfolding  his  plan  for  the  great  sortie. 

"  Felise,  my  beloved,"  wrote  Roderick  in  his 
room.  "Two  hours  from  now  seven  thousand 
men  will  cut  their  way  through  thirty  thousand. 
Our  lights  are  out.  I  write  by  the  glow  of  a 
cigarette.  For  a  moment  I  pause  and  look  at 
life  —  which  I  may  leave  to-night.  If  I  should, 
—  thanks,  sweetheart,  for  the  sweetest  and  best 
of  it.  Life  to  a  man  means  only  two  things  — 


356  '  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

work  and  woman,  and  woman  to  me  means 
you. 

"  Do  not,  I  beg  you,  torture  yourself  with  the 
thought  that  I  am  suffering.  Nature  has  pain 
for  the  living,  but  her  mercy  to  the  dead  is  with 
out  flaw." 

But  the  order  to  march  did  not  reach  the  ex 
pectant  troops  that  night.  Mendez  reported  to 
the  council  that  his  artillery  could  not  be  ready 
in  time.  Miramon  cursed  his  artillery,  but,  in 
spite  of  Miramon,  the  sortie  was  once  more  put 
off.  The  hour  went  by  ;  the  tension  created  by 
the  day's  preparations  relaxed,  and,  except  the 
men  on  guard,  the  army  slept. 

Once  more  Miguel  Lopez  was  alone  with  his 
thought.  Once  more  it  stole  to  the  citadel  of 
his  will.  Should  he  let  it  in  ?  "  Suppose  the 
troops  start  out,"  he  argued  to  himself.  "  Per 
haps  half  will  reach  the  sierra.  Perhaps  the 
Emperor  will  be  of  that  half.  But  then  ?  Months 
of  guerilla  war,  but  sooner  or  later  the  end  is 
sure.  The  Emperor  will  be  shot  if  taken  so." 
And  deeper  than  that  in  the  heart  of  Lopez  was 
the  thought  —  "I  will  be  shot  myself  !  " 

He  passed  from  the  convent  into  the  starlit 
garden  of  La  Cruz,  among  the  nopals  and  maguey. 
He  strolled,  thinking.  He  thought  of  Miramon, 
Mejia,  Castillo.  They  had  received  the  gold  of 
the  treasure,  he  the  silver.  He  remembered  their 
protest  when  the  Emperor  was  going  to  make 
him  brigadier.  Arellano  was  brigadier  instead. 


LOPEZ  357 

"  Curse  them ! "  muttered  Lopez,  "  I'll  save  the 
Emperor,  and  they  can  go  to  hell ! " 

"  Who's  there  ?  "  challenged  a  sentinel. 

"  The  commanding  officer." 

The  sentinel  presented  arms,  and  Lopez  passed. 

He  mounted  a  long  platform  half  as  high  as 
the  adobe  wall.  He  passed  a  squad  of  the  Eighth 
Battery,  and  came,  twenty  paces  beyond,  to  an 
empty  embrasure.  Its  cannon  had  been  with 
drawn  for  the  sortie.  A  section  of  the  municipal 
guard  lay  there,  the  men  asleep  in  their  blankets. 
Lopez  ordered  their  lieutenant  to  fall  them  in 
and  post  them  in  the  cemetery. 

"  Shall  we  leave  this  place  unguarded  ?  "  asked 
the  lieutenant. 

"  Captain  Yablouski  will  man  it  presently  with 
his  scouts,"  replied  Lopez. 

"  There  is  an  unused  howitzer  across  the  gar 
den,  my  Colonel,"  suggested  the  lieutenant.  "  If 
you  order  it,  my  men  can  fetch  it  and  set  it  up 
here." 

"  Not  necessary,"  said  Lopez,  and  turned  back 
to  the  convent.  The  guards  rose  sleepily,  and 
stumbled  through  the  garden  to  their  new  post. 
The  sentinels  heard  them  talk  for  a  while  and 
then  subside. 

Some  time  later  the  Pole  Yablouski  manned 
the  platform  with  a  squad  of  dismounted  irregu 
lar  cavalry.  Among  them  were  Republican  pris 
oners  placed  in  the  Imperial  ranks.  Before  they 
arrived,  Colonel  Lopez  came  back  to  the  platform, 


358  RODERICK  TALIAFERRO 

mounted  it  on  the  side  opposite  the  artillerymen, 
and  slipped  quietly  through  the  empty  embrasure. 

Once  more  he  crossed  the  road,  descended  the 
path,  and  came  to  the  adobe  wall.  Once  more 
he  was  blindfolded  and  led  to  the  tent  of  De 
Castro. 

"  Have  you  come  to  accept  ? "  asked  Don 
Jose. 

"  Yes,"  said  Lopez. 

Queretaro  lay  silent  and  starlit.  A  dark  bat 
talion  stole  across  the  cemetery  road  to  the  empty 
embrasure  in  the  garden  wall.  Adobe  steps  were 
laid  in  silence.  First  Lopez.  Behind  him  Gen 
eral  Francisco  Velez  with  revolver  at  the  colonel's 
head.  Lopez  stepped  upon  the  platform.  Yab- 
louski  was  awake.  The  sleeping  scouts  awoke 
with  bayonets  at  their  eyes.  Lopez  marched  a 
file  of  the  enemy  along  the  platform  to  the  piece 
of  the  Eighth  Battery.  The  lieutenant  recognized 
him  and  saluted. 

"  Here's  an  infantry  reinforcement,"  said  Lopez. 
"  Wake  your  men,  draw  in  that  piece,  and  point 
it  to  the  left,  but  quickly  ! " 

Thinking  the  enemy  about  to  enter  between 
him  and  the  convent,  the  lieutenant  obeyed  with 
the  emotion  of  an  immediate,  invisible  peril. 

The  colonel  strode  away,  and  likewise  "  ree'n- 
forced "  the  other  posts  of  the  garden.  That 
their  commanding  officer  had  betrayed  them 
dawned  very  slowly  on  the  sleepy,  isolated 
squads. 


LOPEZ  359 

Sarnette,  just  wakened,  talked  with  the  officer 
Lopez  had  placed  on  his  post.  The  officer  made 
peculiar  replies  as  to  his  regiment.  One  of  the 
men  reported  his  carbine  gone. 

"  Mine,  too,"  said  another. 

Sarnette  asked  the  officer  what  it  meant,  and 
started  to  descend  the  platform.  He  was  met  by 
a  levelled  bayonet,  and  went  back  furious.  The 
strange  officer  said  Lopez  had  given  orders  to 
allow  no  one  to  leave  the  platform.  Sarnette's 
tardy  suspicion  became  certainty  of  treason,  but 
he  was  in  the  enemy's  power,  unable  to  warn  La 
Cruz,  still  black  and  silent  on  his  left.  There 
were  comings  and  goings  in  the  garden,  and  low 
voices,  but  La  Cruz  seemed  sleeping  an  enchanted 
sleep.  The  bitter .  work  went  on  without  a  cry 
or  shot.  Through  the  dark  corridors  and  patios 
of  the  convent,  guards,  recognizing  and  obeying 
the  voice  of  Lopez,  were  relieved,  and  enemies 
took  their  places.  Still  no  alarm  !  To  Sarnette 
the  silence  grew  fantastic,  dreamlike.  The  Supre 
mos  Poderes  honeycombed  La  Cruz  and  formed 
beyond  it  in  the  Plaza.  Other  regiments  came 
in.  Dawn  stained  the  east.  There  were  a  thou 
sand  enemies  in  the  place  before  Lopez  was  per 
mitted  to  send  a  warning  to  the  Emperor  asleep 
upstairs. 

He  was  wakened  by  Yablouski  crying,  "  Get 
up,  sire  !  The  enemy  is  in  La  Cruz  ! " 

His  secretary  woke  and  roused  Prince  Salm 
and  General  Castillo.  They  all  dressed  hur- 


360  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

riedly.  The  Emperor  gathered  up  some  impor 
tant  papers,  slipped  on  a  surtout,  took  his  re 
volvers,  and  with  a  tense,  low  "  Forward ! "  led 
the  way.  It  was  not  yet  broad  daylight,  but  the 
uniforms  of  Salm  and  Castillo  were  not  concealed, 
and  Maximilian's  yellow  beard  showed  plain. 

In  the  corridor  at  the  foot  of  the  stairs  was  a 
Republican  sentinel.  The  Emperor  and  his  fol 
lowers  prepared  to  kill  this  man,  but  as  they 
approached  him  he  presented  arms,  and  they 
went  by.  They  were  stopped  in  the  doorway 
leading  to  the  plaza. 

"  Let  them  pass  !  "  cried  a  Republican  colonel. 
"  They  are  civilians  !  " 

The  Republican  compact  with  Lopez  to  let  the 
Emperor  leave  La  Cruz  was  thus  fulfilled. 

They  traversed  the  plaza.  An  Imperial  officer 
stepped  from  the  door  of  his  lodging.  He  was 
fired  at  by  soldiers  in  the  belfry  of  the  convent 
church.  The  bells  began  to  ring  violently.  At 
that  signal,  Republican  cannon  opened  all  about 
the  town,  and  columns  of  attack  began  to  form 
on  every  side.  Along  the  perimeter  of  the  de 
fences  ran  the  word,  as  though  on  electric  cur 
rents,  that  the  enemy  had  La  Cruz.  The  troops 
came  crowding  in,  confused  and  panicky. 

Uncertain  where  to  go,  the  Emperor  and  his 
three  companions  stopped  on  the  street  sloping 
down  from  La  Cruz  to  the  centre  of  town. 

"  Here  come  a  battalion  of  the  enemy  !  "  cried 
Castillo. 


LOPEZ  361 

They  turned  down  a  side  street. 

"  Tha.t  was  Lopez  with  that  battalion,"  said 
Salm-Salm.  "  How  did  the  enemy  enter  La 
Cruz  ?  " 

"  He  must  be  a  prisoner,"  said  the  Emperor. 

"We'd  better  try  to  gain  the  Hill  of  Bells," 
said  Castillo,  and  they  walked  westward.  Pres 
ently  Lopez,  coming  at  a  gallop,  overtook  them, 
dismounted,  and  walking  beside  the  Emperor, 
begged  him  to  go  to  a  house  near  the  Rio  Blanco. 

"  If  your  Majesty  will  remain  there  to-day 
with  me,"  he  said,  "  I  can  positively  guarantee 
escape  to-night !  " 

"  The  Hapsburgs  do  not  hide ! "  said  Maxi 
milian. 

Tears  sprang  to  the  eyes  of  Lopez.  "  Can 
nothing  persuade  your  Majesty  ?  "  he  cried, 

"  What  were  you  doing  just  now  with  the 
Republicans  ?  "  demanded  Prince  Salm-Salm. 

"  At  least  your  Majesty  will  take  my  horse  !  " 
implored  Lopez. 

"As  you  see,"  said  Maximilian,  "  my  compan 
ions  are  on  foot." 

The  miserable  Lopez  turned  abruptly  and  rode 
back  to  the  Republicans. 

In  the  centre  of  town,  the  Emperor  met  Me*jia 
and  some  of  his  staff,  who  gave  their  horses  to 
the  Imperial  party.  The  Emperor  was  persuaded 
to  mount  Colonel  Taliaferro's  black  mare,  and 
with  Mejia  galloped  through  the  streets  and  out 
to  the  Hill  of  Bells. 


362  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

Wrecks  and  fragments  of  regiments  were  flee 
ing  thither.  On  every  side  the  Liberal  lines 
were  closing  in.  Battery  after  battery  turned 
its  fire  upon  the  dense,  disordered  masses  on  the 
hill. 

The  dragoons  of  the  Empress  and  the  San 
Luis  regiment  went  into  line  at  the  foot  of  it, 
and  kept  the  enemy  from  sweeping  up,  but  all 
the  guns  had  found  them,  and  they  suffered  sin 
fully.  General  Medina  went  up  to  the  Emperor 
for  orders. 

"  Your  Majesty,"  said  he,  saluting,  "  my  men 
demand  permission  to  charge  or  seek  cover." 

"  Have  you  seen  Miramon  ?  "  asked  the  Em 
peror. 

"  Yes,  sire,"  said  Medina.  "  A  bullet  struck 
him  in  the  face.  He  went  to  the  house  of  his 
friend,  Dr.  Licea." 

"  General  Mejia,"  said  the  Emperor,  "  can  we 
cut  through  ?  " 

Mejia  looked  long  and  carefully  at  the  enemy's 
lines.  "  Sire,"  he  said,  "  to  cut  through  is  im 
possible,  but  if  you  give  the  order,  we  will  try. 
I,  for  one,  am  ready  to  die." 

There  was  a  murmur  of  assent  among  the  score 
of  officers  about  Maximilian. 

"  Thank  you,  gentlemen,"  said  he,  turning  to 
them.  "  I  see  with  gratitude  that  among  you 
there  are  noble  hearts.  You,  at  least,  have  not 
abandoned  me  in  my  extremity,  but  stand  be 
side  me,  faithful  unto  death.  I  had  sworn  never 


LOPEZ  363 

to  surrender,  but  now,  to  save  your  lives,  I 
must." 

When  Taliaferro  gave  Thetis  to  the  Emperor, 
he  and  three  staff-officers  kept  on,  on  foot,  and 
met  Maximo  Campos,  his  old  chief,  with  half  a 
dozen  men.  They  hastened  toward  the  west,  and 
saw  ahead  of  them  the  summit  of  the  Hill  of  Bells. 

But  in  the  very  edge  of  town,  where  the  street 
became  a  lane  and  opened  to  the  fields,  a  Repub 
lican  battalion  coming  from  Casa  Blanca  seized 
them. 

"  Campos !  "  shouted  a  lieutenant,  "  we've  got 
Campos ! " 

A  lieutenant-colonel  rode  up  as  the  Imperial 
ists  were  disarmed. 

"  Valera  !  "  exclaimed  Campos,  and  turned  pale. 
He  had  shot  Juan  Valera  under  the  Black  Decree. 

"  God  is  just !  "  exclaimed  Valera. 

They  stood  Campos  against  the  wall  of  the  lane. 

"  I  gave  your  brother  a  priest !  "  said  Campos. 
"  He  died  with  the  sacrament." 

"You  belong  in  hell,"  said  Valera,  savagely. 
"  In  the  back,  Sergeant.  Maximo  Campos  dies 
as  a  traitor  to  Mexico ! " 

A  body  of  troops  came  in  sight  up  the  street, 
and  Campos  turned  his  eyes  to  it  with  hope  of 
rescue. 

"  Promptly,  Sergeant ! "  cried  Valera. 

"  Aim,"  commanded  the  sergeant.     "  Fire  ! " 

At  the  word  Campos  whirled  to  receive  the 
bullets  in  his  breast,  and  fell  face  down. 


364  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

Over  the  regiment  coming  from  town  Talia- 
ferro  saw  the  Republican  flag.  They  approached 
rapidly.  At  their  head  rode  a  brigadier. 

"  De  Castro  !  "  exclaimed  Taliaferro,  and  looked 
at  the  body  of  Campos. 

Coming  up  and  halting  his  command,  De  Cas 
tro  saw  it  too.  He  looked  at  Taliaferro  and  at 
the  firing  squad.  Valera  saluted. 

"  In  memory  of  Juan,  my  brother,"  said  he, 
pointing  to  the  dead  man. 

"  I  also  have  memories,"  said  De  Castro. 
"Place  Colonel  Taliaferro  against  that  wall." 

Roderick  slipped  his  farewell  letter  to  Felise 
into  the  hand  of  a  brother  officer,  went  to  the 
w^all,  and  faced  the  squad.  He  was  pale,  but 
his  teeth  were  set.  It  would  be  worse  than 
death  itself  if  he  did  not  die  as  faultlessly  as 
De  Castro  had  faced  his  bullet  at  Popotla.  He 
shut  from  his  mind  the  thought  of  all  the  rich 
and  beautiful  possibilities  of  life.  They  would 
not  be.  His  will  was  concentrated  upon  the 
effort  to  maintain  a  stoic  face. 

"  I  will  give  the  commands,  Sergeant,"  said  De 
Castro. 

He  rode  to  the  right  of  the  squad,  and  sat 
studying  Taliaferro's  expression. 

"  Load,"  commanded  he. 

He  did  not  look  at  the  men,  and  waited  what 
seemed  an  interminable  time  before  he  gave  the 
command  "  Ready."  Hammers  clicked. 

The  volleys  of  the  Emperor's  last  fight  came 


LOPEZ  365 

from  the  Hill  of  Bells.  That  Mexican  lane  and 
the  triumphant  eyes  of  his  enemy  were  stamped 
on  Taliaferro's  soul. 

"  Aim,"  said  De  Castro. 

Rifles  rose,  and  Roderick's  muscles  braced. 

"  Recover  arms  !  "  commanded  De  Castro. 

Expecting  the  word  "  Fire  !  "  a  recruit  pulled 
the  trigger.  His  piece  turned  slightly,  and  the 
bullet  hit  the  wall.  De  Castro  sent  his  horse 
close  to  Taliaferro. 

"  That  pays  one  score,"  said  he.  "  I  want  you 
to  hear  of  certain  things  before  you  die." 

He  turned  away.  "  Take  charge  of  that  pris 
oner,"  said  he  to  a  captain.  « At  the  slightest 
attempt  at  escape  or  chance  of  rescue,  shoot 
him  ! " 

At  that  moment,  Maximilian's  white  flag  rose 
above  the  redoubt  on  the  Hill  of  Bells.  The 
boom  of  cannon  ceased,  and  with  it  the  Mexican 
Empire. 


IV 
THE  BOOK  OF  DEATH 


THE    PRISONS    OP    QUERETARO 

THE  ghostly  battalions  of  the  night  swarmed, 
noisy  and  jubilant,  in  the  streets  of  Queretaro. 
Into  the  plaza  of  La  Cruz  poured  streams  of  dis 
armed  soldiery.  Hundreds  of  swordless  officers 
were  imprisoned  in  the  convent  church.  Under 
hard  taskmasters  prisoners,  tore  down  barri 
cades,  dragged  cannon,  buried  the  dead.  Now 
and  then  came  the  sound  of  a  small  volley. 
With  each,  some  hated  Imperial  chief  sank  life 
less  before  some  plastered  wall.  Forty  died  so. 

Placed  in  the  church  of  La  Cruz,  Taliaferro 
had  no  doubt  that,  whatever  befell  his  fellow- 
officers,  he  himself  was  marked  for  death  after 
such  mental  torture  as  De  Castro  could  invent. 

The  daily  ration  was  two  pints  of  water,  and 
nothing  more.  Men  fainted,  and  simply  had  to 
lie  till  they  revived. 

The  second  evening  Roderick  and  Fernand  sat 
smoking  the  bitter  end  of  their  last  cigar  —  half 
an  inch  of  tobacco  stuck  on  a  pin.  Through  the 
western  door  glowed  a  strip  of  deep  red  sky.  A 
Liberal  officer  approached  the  smokers.  They 
were  laughing  at  a  peon  sentinel,  whose  belt- 

2B  369 


370  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

plate,  upside  down,  had  "  the  Mexican  eagle 
standing  on  his  head." 

«  Laugh,  my  fine  gentlemen,"  said  the  officer ; 
"laugh  while  you  may,  for  you  will  find  these 
people  good  enough  to  shoot  the  likes  of  you." 

The  two  obeyed,  and  laughed.  Sarnette  let 
out  an  oath  as  the  pin  burned  his  fingers.  The 
glowing  ash  fell  on  his  lap  ;  he  struck  it  from  his 
clothing.  There  was  a  flashing  explosion.  Loose 
powder,  near  a  supposedly  empty  ammunition 
case,  ignited  half  a  dozen  cartridges. 

"  What's  that  ?  "  shouted  a  dozen  voices. 

The  idea  of  a  more  horrible  Tepetotes  caused 
a  panic  rush  toward  the  door. 

Crying  "  Mutiny  !  "  the  guards  fired  in.  Rod 
erick  shouted  to  the  Republican  officer,  but  the 
officer  lay  on  the  floor  with  a  bullet  through  his 
abdomen.  Fighting  his  way  toward  the  door, 
Sarnette  saw  the  howitzer  outside,  the  dark  form 
of  the  gunner,  the  glowworm  linstock  near  the 
vent.  Averting  the  death  and  mutilation  of 
scores,  an  officer  heard  Sarnette's  shouted  expla 
nation,  and  stopped  the  gunner. 

The  wounded  Republican  officer  was  carried 
out,  and  died  that  night.  One  prisoner  had  been 
killed,  and  three  wounded,  among  them  lovable 
Ortiz.  The  poor  fellow  lay  groaning  and  beg 
ging  for  water.  There  was  none  to  give  him. 
Taliaferro  sat  with  him  through  terrible  hours. 
The  most  beautiful  thing  a  man  ever  said  to 
Roderick  Taliaferro  was  said  that  night  by  that 


THE  PRISONS  OP  QUERETARO  371 

young  lover  of  Felise.  In  the  morning  they 
found  his  knee  had  been  shattered.  He  was 
taken  to  the  hospital,  and,  after  an  operation, 
died  of  gangrene. 

That  day  the  prisoners  were  marched  down 
into  the  city.  As  they  went  through  the  Plaza 
de  La  Cruz  they  saw  Lopez  standing  by  his 
horse  before  his  door.  They,  who  had  been 
"  faithful  unto  death,"  did  not  envy  the  traitor 
his  freedom  bought  with  shame. 

They  were  placed  in  the  convent  of  Santa 
Teresa.  A  hack  drove  up  with  the  Emperor  and 
his  jailer,  General  Gonzalez.  The  officers  stood 
with  heads  uncovered  as  their  fallen  sovereign 
passed  in. 

"  What  other  potentate  can  boast  a  court  so 
numerous  ?  "  smiled  he. 

The  officers  were  lodged  two  and  three  in  a 
cell,  and  had  the  run  of  the  patio.  Charitable 
citizens  began  to  bring  in  food,  and  the  prisoners 
had  chances  to  buy  fruit  and  bread. 

The  next  day,  General  Mendez,  captured  in 
hiding,  was  brought  into  Santa  Teresa,  and 
taken  to  see  the  Emperor.  He  had  shot  Arteaga 
and  Salazar  under  the  Black  Decree.  He  re 
marked  quietly  that  he  had  come  to  say  fare 
well. 

"  When  is  it  to  be,  Mendez  ?  "  asked  Miramon. 

"  In  two  hours,  Don  Miguel." 

"  You  are  only  the  vanguard,  Mendez,"  said 
Maximilian.  «  We  shall  join  you  soon." 


372  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

"  General,"  said  Mejia,  "  I  hope  you  may  con- 
.  duct  yourself  before  these  people  to-day  like  the 
man  you  have  always  been  !  " 

"  Never  fear,  '  Don  Tomasito,'  "  smiled  Mendez. 

He  embraced  them,  and  departed.  In  the  con 
vent  church  he  received  extreme  unction,  and 
said  farewell  to  wife  and  child.  An  officer  made 
him  a  sign.  To  spare  himself  and  his  loved  ones 
the  last  intolerable  pang,  he  made  them  think  he 
had  to  step  out  for  a  moment  only.  He  went, 
and  did  not  return.  Passing  the  windows  of 
Santa  Teresa,  he  looked  up,  smiled  brightly  to 
his  comrades,  and  waved  adieu. 

"  Who  next  ?  "  thought  they  ;  but  day  after 
day  went  by  and  brought  no  change. 

The  rank  and  file  had  been  incorporated  in 
the  Republican  army,  and  marched  away  to  the 
siege  of  Mexico.  Roderick  learned  that  De  Cas 
tro  had  gone  there  with  his  brigade.  He  did 
not  see  how  the  fall  of  the  capital  could  fail  to 
place  Felise  once  more  and  irretrievably  in  the 
power  of  Don  Jose.  Her  marriage  was  too  cer 
tainly  the  thing  De  Castro  meant  he  should  hear 
before  he  died. 

One  morning,  after  two  weeks  of  captivity, 
Taliaferro  sat  dejectedly  in  the  patio.  From 
the  street,  in  company  of  Captain  del  Borgo,  an 
Italian,  entered  three  ladies.  They  were  the 
Princess  Salm,  Senora  Miramon,  and  Felise. 
Roderick  sprang  up  and  hastened  to  her  whom 
he  had  thought  never  to  see  again. 


THE   PRISONS   OF   QUERETARO  373 

For  an  instant  she  did  not  recognize  his  thin, 
unshaven  face,  and  he  feared  his  failure  to  appear 
that  night  in  Mexico  —  her  glad,  sad  greeting 
cut  that  short.  Shadows  lay  on  her  lips  and 
eyes,  but  her  most  radiant  hour  could  have 
awakened  in  his  heart  no  such  carol  of  gratitude 
and  love.  For  months,  his  every  motive  had 
been  steeled  for  destruction  of  life ;  and  now, 
out  of  De  Castro's  power  as  he  thought,  with 
superb  contrast  to  the  hatreds  of  war,  came  she, 
the  Woman,  her  life-giving  form  and  invisible 
nature  exquisitely  tender,  in  her  the  powers  and 
instincts  that  create  and  preserve  mankind. 

"  I  have  come  to  save  you  and  my  father,  Don 
Roderick,"  she  said,  "  if  any  sacrifice  of  mine  can 
do  it." 

"  Dearest,  I've  been  wild  with  the  fear  you'd 
fall  into  the  hands  of  De  Castro.  I'd  rather  die 
a  thousand  deaths  than  that !  How  did  you 
escape  from  Mexico  ?  " 

"  Porfirio  Diaz,  God  bless  him,  let  us  through. 
His  passport  saved  us  on  the  —  have  you  seen 
my  father  ?  " 

"  Not  since  the  surrender.  He  is  with  the 
Emperor.  Did  you  blame  me  bitterly  that  night 
I  did  not  come  ?  " 

"  I  knew  you  could  not  come  because  you  did 
not,"  she  said.  "  If  I  ever  blamed  you  for  the 
lovely  hope  —  it's  past.  Things  are  too  awful 
now  to  think  of  what  is  gone.  The  princess 
believes  that  somehow  his  Majesty  can  be  saved. 


374  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

She  and  I  will  be  together  at  5,  San  Augustin. 
We  will  help  each  other  in  our  plans." 

"  What  are  they,  dear  ?  " 

"  It  may  be  pardon,  it  may  be  an  escape.  We 
may  bribe  the  guards.  We  will  intercede  with 
Juarez.  It  must  be  something !  I  —  " 

«  You  what,  Felise  ?  " 

"Met  Don  Jose  upon  the  road,"  she  said. 

«  You  did  !     What  did  he  do  ?  " 

«  Nothing  —  but  talk." 

«  And  that  talk  ?  " 

"  He  said  he  had  saved  your  life." 

"Saved  it?  Well,  he  didn't  take  it  —  then! 
What  else  did  he  say  ?  " 

"  He  said  that  if  I  wrote,  he  would  come  back 
to  Queretaro  —  that  he  could  save  you  and  my 
father  if  —  if  I  — "  She  stopped  with  down 
cast  eyes. 

He  caught  her  wrist  as  he  might  have  to  keep 
her  from  plunging  a  knife  into  her  heart.  "  Fe 
lise,  Felise,"  he  cried,  "  there  are  things  worse 
than  death,  and  this  is  one ! " 

"  I  must  go  up  with  the  princess,"  she  said. 
"  I  have  not  seen  my  father." 

"  Swear  you  won't  do  this,  Felise,  swear  not 
to  marry  De  Castro  —  no  matter  what  comes !  " 

"  I  will  try  all  else  before  I  do,"  said  she. 


II 

JUAREZ 

GENERAL  MEDINA  and  Prince  Salm  were  con 
fined  with  seven  others  in  a  room  adjoining  the 
Emperor's. 

When  Felise,  in  her  father's  arms,  looked  into 
his  shining  eyes,  it  seemed  to  her  that  never  till 
then  had  she  really  known  and  loved  him. 
Whatever  estrangement  she  had  felt  from  him 
vanished  there  in  the  shadow  of  death.  She  had 
no  futile  tears,  but  told  the  things  she  had  done 
and  meant  to  do.  He  was  morbid  with  the 
thought  that  his  death  and  the  confiscation  of 
his  estates  would  leave  his  family  destitute. 

"  Bribe  the  officers ! "  he  exclaimed,  as  she 
sketched  her  plans.  "That  would  take  money, 
child.  Men  do  not  take  risks  like  that  for 
nothing." 

"I  have  brought  fifty  thousand  pesos,"  said 
she. 

"  How  is  it  possible  ?  "  he  exclaimed.  «  I  took 
every  peseta  out  of  Cazadero." 

"  I  hope  you  will  not  disapprove,"  she  said. 
"  The  Liberals  would  have  taken  it,  and  then  we 
should  have  had  nothing.  I  knew  that  in  Quere- 

376 


376  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

taro  you  could  not  act  yourself.  Therefore  I 
did.  I  have  sold  Cazadero  to  Mr.  Ford  of  the 
Vera  Cruz  railway." 

"  You  !  "  exclaimed  Don  Miguel. 

It  had  been  hard  for  her,  that  sale.  Cazadero 
was  like  part  of  her  own  soul  —  the  little  chapel, 
yellow  as  gold,  where  she  had  been  baptized,  the 
aqueduct,  painted  with  lichen,  hiding  itself  in 
vines,"  her  chamber,  high-embowered.  Coming 
to  Queretaro,  she  had  traversed  its  open  land, 
the  sweet  seclusion  of  its  coverts,  and  tears  had 
veiled  it. 

She  feared  her  father's  amazement  meant 
disapproval. 

"  Felise,"  said  he,  « you  have  a  man's  good 
sense ! " 

She  was  greatly  relieved.  Dona  Casilda  said 
Cazadero  had  been  in  the  family  two  centuries, 
and  Senor  Mora  said  the  price  was  ridiculous. 
Felise  had  persevered,  and  the  title  being  not 
hers,  but  her  father's,  she  had  staked  the  honor 
of  the  Medinas  upon  his  willingness  to  back  her 
bargain.  To  guard  against  confiscation  there 
were  to  be  five  yearly  payments.  Mr.  Ford  said 
no  doubt  she  would  want  interest,  but  that  was 
too  deep  for  her,  and  she  said  never  mind  it.  So 
passed  the  marquisate. 

To  Don  Miguel  the  money  was  but  a  legacy 
that  set  his  mind  at  ease.  To  Felise,  more  rich 
in  hope,  it  was  the  means  of  freeing  him  and 
providing  for  his  age.  She  told  him  that,  if  all 


JUAREZ  377 

else  failed,  she  had  power,  through  Don  Jose,  to 
save  his  life. 

The  princess  and  her  husband  went  in  to  see 
the  Emperor,  who  seemed  to  think  a  personal 
interview  with  Escobedo  would  set  all  crooked 
straight.  She  told  him  that  in  the  capital 
Marquez  was  holding  out  fanatically  without 
apparent  hope,  object,  or  flag. 

"Waiting  for  Santa  Anna,"  mused  the  Em 
peror,  bitterly. 

Felise  and  the  princess  went  from  the  convent 
to  the  sumptuous  house  a  friend  in  Mexico  had 
placed  at  their  disposal.  The  servants  had 
orders  to  consider  the  Countess  del  Aguilar 
their  mistress ;  but  three  Republican  officers 
were  in  possession  with  billets,  and  refused  to 
leave. 

The  ladies  drove  to  headquarters  and  returned 
with  Escobedo's  aide,  Colonel  Villanueva,  and 
an  order  revoking  the  billets.  The  officers  de 
camped. 

Colonel  Palacios  appeared  soon  afterward 
with'  an  order  to  escort  Maximilian  to  head 
quarters.  The  princess  went  with  the  Emperor, 
while  Felise  prepared  comforts  for  her  father 
and  Roderick.  Upon  her  return,  the  princess 
confessed  that  the  interview,  from  which  his 
Majesty  had  hoped  so  much,  was  without  result. 
She  counted  as  an  advantage,  however,  their 
acquaintance  with  the  two  colonels. 

"I  find  they  have  more  than  any  one  else  to 


378  RODERICK  TALIAFERRO 

do  with  guarding  the  Emperor  and  the  generals," 
she  said. 

« Do  you  think  we  can  bribe  them  ? "  whis 
pered  Felise. 

«  Be  nice  to  them,"  said  the  princess.  « Villa- 
nueva  was  educated  in  Germany.  He  is  not 
wealthy.  If  he  were,  he  would  live  there.  I 
will  study  his  character.  But  we  will  invite 
that  Del  Borgo  to  dinner.  It  is  my  opinion 
that  he  is  purchasable." 

"  If  so,"  said  Felise,  "  let  us  purchase  him,  but 
not  invite  him  to  dinner." 

"  In  playing  a  game  with  lives  for  stakes 
we  cannot  be  socially  squeamish,"  said  the 
princess. 

Colonel  Villanueva  called  next  day,  and  told 
them  that  Escobedo  had  received  the  order  for 
the  trial  of  Maximilian  and  his  generals  under 
the  law  of  January  25,  1862.  That  law  pro 
vided  the  death  penalty  for  all  those  taken  with 
arms  in  their  hands,  resisting  the  Republic. 

They  hastened  to  the  convent  with  the  news. 
When  he  heard  it,  Medina  seemed  to  think  that, 
as  far  as  the  trial  was  concerned,  it  was  settled ; 
but  the  Salms  would  yield  no  point  without  a 
struggle. 

"  We  must  have  time  to  secure  advocates  and 
prepare  the  case,"  said  the  prince.  "  We  must 
fight  for  delay.  Every  hour  gained  is  another 
chance  for  life." 

"  I  will  go  now  to  San  Luis,"  said  the  prin- 


JUAREZ  379 

cess.  "  I  will  see  Juarez  himself,  and  make  him 
grant  delay." 

"  I  will  go  with  you,"  said  Felise,  catching  at 
the  chance  of  action.  She  could  not  bear  the 
hopeless  look  of  her  father's  eyes.  Perhaps  he 
did  not  mean  it  so,  but  it  seemed  to  accuse  her, 
saying  dumbly  that  she  could  prevent  this  if  she 
would. 

On  the  second  afternoon,  the  two  ladies  entered 
the  office  of  President  Juarez  in  the  Municipal 
Palace  of  San  Luis,  and  poured  their  appeal  into 
his  ears.  They  demanded  delay,  tried  to  draw 
out  a  statement  of  his  purpose,  strove  to  make 
him  feel  the  mistake  of  staining  his  victory  with 
blood. 

They  were  baffled,  not  by  skill,  but  by  sheer 
strength.  The  thin  lips  of  the  great  Indian  held 
their  form  with  vicelike  firmness.  They  saw 
that  courage  never  to  submit  or  yield  which  had 
carried  this  man's  cause  through  desperate  years 
to  victory.  He  was  not  brilliant,  not  versatile, 
not  agreeable,  but  he  was  granite.  Of  a  race 
that  had  suffered  much  and  enjoyed  nothing,  he 
had  no  inherited  aesthetic  bias  toward  the  pleas- 
anter  of  two  courses.  His  thoughts  were  like 
the  links  of  iron  chains. 

"Mesdames,"  said  he,  "you  are  pleading  for  a 
man  and  a  brother  being.  I  know  him  not.  To 
me  this  is  the  fictitious  Emperor  of  Mexico." 

"  The  man  gives  pledges  that  he  will  forever 
renounce  that  title,"  urged  the  princess. 


380  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

"  Yes.  Now.  But  when  the  man  is  free  in 
Miramar,  the  Emperor  will  cry  '  Compulsion  ! '  " 

"  Maximilian's  word  of  honor  is  inviolable," 
said  the  princess.  "  You  know  that,  President 
Juarez.  And  behind  his  word,  behind  his  oath, 
will  be  the  guarantee  of  every  power  in  Europe." 

"I  have  had  those  guarantees  before,  Princess 
de  Salm  —  from  England,  from  Spain,  from  the 
Pope,  from  France.  In  '62,  the  French  gave 
guarantees  to  retire  to  Vera  Cruz  in  case  of 
hostilities.  Did  they  ?  When  they  reached 
Puebla !  "  He  smiled  grimly  at  the  thought  of 
the  5th  of  May.  "No,  Princess  de  Salm,"  he 
said.  "The  so-called  Empress  Charlotte  will 
live  or  she  will  die.  If  she  lives,  she  may  bear  a 
son.  If  she  dies,  a  second  wife  may  bear  a  son. 
And  that  son !  Heir  to  this  stolen  throne  !  This 
people's  blood  shall  never  flow  for  him !  The 
Clericals  are  scotched,  not  killed.  They  will  go 
on  plotting  to  bring  back  the  Middle  Age.  Shall 
I  give  them  this  un forged  sword,  this  unlit 
brand?  Then  I,  Juarez,  would  be  shedding  un 
born  blood,  and  burning  homes  unbuilt.  Prin 
cess  de  Salm,  if  God  Almighty  asked  me  for  this 
life,  I  would  say  'No!'" 

The  princess  gripped  the  edge  of  the  table. 
Felise  stepped  forward  imploringly. 

"Don't  kneel!"  cried  Juarez,  with  a  gesture 
of  repugnance. 

"  But  my  father,  Sen  or  Presidente  !  No  future 
Emperor  can  spring  from  him.  He  has  loved 


JUAREZ  381 

Mexico,  and  loves  it.  What  harm  will  he  ever 
do  you  or  your  cause?  " 

"  I  will  have  nothing  to  do  with  all  this ! "  ex 
claimed  Juarez,  feeling  perhaps  that  his  ground 
was  weaker.  "  The  courts  have  been  appointed, 
and  the  courts  shall  judge!" 

He  turned  abruptly  and  left  the  room. 


Ill 

DEL    BORGO 

IN  her  room  at  5,  San  Augustin  sat  Felise, 
writing. 

The  princess  was  going  that  afternoon  to 
Mexico,  and  guaranteed  that  the  letter  of  Felise 
should  reach  De  Castro's  hands.  After  the 
weariness  of  her  journey  from  San  Luis,  the 
girl  had  slept,  and  passed  from  sleep  into  a  half 
dream,  half  vision  of  her  father  facing  the  firing 
squad.  As  she  wrote,  she  imagined  Don  Jose 
receiving  her  letter,  posting  to  Queretaro,  bring 
ing  his  influence  to  save  the  men  she  loved. 
The  letter  promised  nothing,  but  she  knew  what 
it  implied.  She  folded  and  addressed  it ;  lit 
the  wax  and  sealed  it.  There  it  lay,  square 
and  white  and  silent  —  how  frail  a  thing  !  The 
wind  could  blow  it  away,  the  water  of  the 
fountain  dissolve  it,  the  touch  of  a  taper  crinkle 
it  to  ghostly  ashes.  Yet  it  could  avert  death, 
change  life. 

"  If  things  were  only  different ! "  sighed 
Felise. 

For  a  moment,  to  her  dreaming  heart,  the 
iron  web  of  Fate  was  not.  For  a  moment  she 

382 


DEL  BORGO  383 

stood  again  with  Roderick  beside  the  starlit 
Tacubaya  villa,  folded  in  the  magical,  deep 
night.  The  letter  crowded  back  upon  her  eyes. 
Her  arms  pillowed  her  face,  the  letter  touched 
her  hair,  her  shoulders  shook. 

There  was  a  knock.  Felise  sat  up  quickly. 
It  was  the  princess. 

«  Poor  girl !  "  said  she,  "  you  need  good  news, 
and  I  bring  it." 

"  Good  news  ! " 

"  Captain  del  Borgo  will  be  on  guard  to 
morrow  night.  He  will  let  the  Emperor  and 
your  father  pass." 

"  Oh,  Virgin  merciful ! "  breathed  the  girl. 

"  I  gave  him  a  thousand  pesos,"  said  the 
princess.  "He  has  gone  to  buy  horses.  He 
will  hide  them  in  a  thicket  beyond  the  river. 
By  dawn  they  can  reach  the  sierra,  and  by  noon 
will  be  with  General  Olvera's  thousand  men." 

The  heart  of  Felise  leaped  rosy  from  the 
depths,  the  shadow  fell  from  her  life.  She 
turned  and  tore  the  hateful  letter.  "  I  too  am 
free  ! "  she  cried. 

The  princess  smiled.  "It  looks  as  though  I 
were  not  to  take  the  letter,"  said  she. 

"  Take  it !  "  exclaimed  the  girl,  "  are  you  still 
going  ?  " 

"  Yes,"  said  the  princess.  "  Something  might 
happen,  you  know." 

At  the  thought  she  saw  the  girl's  joy  cease. 

"  I  don't  think  Del  Borgo  will  fail  us,"  added 


384  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

the  princess,  "  but  we  must  not  put  all  our  eggs 
in  one  basket.  Besides,  there  are  spies.  I  am 
watched ;  my  plans  are  known  —  some  of  them. 
They  know  I  am  going  for  the  advocates.  If  I 
should  not,  they  might  suspect.  You  must  be 
more  calm,  dearest  Felise.  You  hope  too  much, 
you  fear  too  much.  Do  not  count  too  much  on 
one  thing.  If  this  fails,  there  are  a  dozen  ways 
still  left." 

It  was  the  North  chiding  the  South.  "  How 
strong  her  coldness  makes  her  !  "  thought  Felise, 
whose  heartstrings  were  a  lute. 

"  I  have  told  my  husband  and  your  father," 
said  the  princess,  "and  hidden  a  note  in  the 
Emperor's  bread.  If  anything  comes  up,  1  have 
told  Del  Borgo  to  consult  you  as  he  would  me." 

"  What  is  likely  to  come  up  ? "  asked  Felise, 
privately  deciding  to  include  Roderick  in  the 
scheme  of  escape. 

"  Nothing  that  we  know  of,"  said  the  princess. 
"  If  Del  Borgo  succeeds,  he  is  to  have  another 
thousand  pesos  and  the  price  of  the  horses." 

"  I  will  pay  him,"  said  Felise. 

"  And  treat  him  as  though  he  were  a  gentle 
man,  Felise.  He  isn't,  but  then  !  " 

"Trust  me,"  said  Felise.  "To  me  he  is  the 
angel  of  deliverance  !  " 

That  afternoon,  her  passport  signed  by  Esco- 
bedo,  the  princess  departed.  She  expected  to 
be  back  in  five  days  with  the  Austrian  and 
Prussian  ministers,  and  four  noted  advocates. 


DEL   BORGO  385 

Felise  was  alone  except  for  servants  and  Padre 
Geronimo,  who  had  come  to  live  in  the  house. 
Brought  up  in  the  dogma  that  she  should  and 
could  do  nothing,  the  girl  had  guidance  of  a  plan 
to  save  her  sovereign.  Two  months  earlier,  she 
would  have  been  overwhelmed,  but  since  then 
she  had  developed  more  than  in  ordinary  years 
of  Mexican  girl-life.  In  her  new  delight  of  re 
sponsibility,  she  began  to  regret  that  the  plan  of 
the  princess  was  so  automatic  that  it  left  her 
nothing  to  do,  and  realized  a  touch  of  jealousy 
because  it  was  not  her  very  own  plan. 

She  sent  for  Del  Borgo  to  tell  him  of  Rod 
erick.  She  found  that  things  were  not  running 
so  smoothly  after  all.  The  Italian  had  developed 
doubts  of  his  ability  to  get  the  Emperor  past  the 
room  of  Captain  Craviotto,  who  was  to  alternate 
with  him  through  the  night  in  command  of  the 
guard. 

"  What  kind  of  man  is  this  captain  ?  "  asked 
Felise. 

"  You  mean  —  ?  "  began  Del  Borgo,  uncom 
fortably. 

"  Can  he  not  be  convinced  that  the  Emperor's 
escape  will  be  a  blessing  even  for  the  Republic  ?  " 

"  Ah,  senorita,  he  has  not  seen  so  much  as  I 
of  that  princely  gentleman,  and  cannot  so  much 
desire  to  save  him  from  the  scaffold." 

"  If  he  is  a  man  not  moved  by  nobler  motives, 
Captain,"  said  she,  "  may  he  not  be  influenced 
by  money  alone  ?  "  There  was  no  irony  in  her 

2c 


386  RODERICK  TALIAFERRO 

voice.  The  captain  looked  for  it  in  her  face  and 
found  it  not.  Her  eyes  were  innocence  looking 
upon  innocence. 

"  It  would  be  too  dangerous  for  me  to  propose, 
senorita,"  he  said.  "  If  the  princess  had  but 
spoken  to  him  herself  !  " 

"  /  will  speak  to  him,"  said  Felise,  a  little 
piqued.  "  And  Captain,  you  must  find  the  cell  of 
Colonel  Roderick  Taliaferro,  and  free  him  too." 

The  captain  demurred  at  first,  but  consented 
after  a  delicate  suggestion  that  the  price  for  his 
services  would  be  doubled. 

Felise  sounded  Captain  Craviotto,  who  had 
fought  at  Ixmiquilpan,  and  found  him  frankly 
mercenary.  He  made  neither  difficulties  nor  pre 
tences.  Two  thousand  pesos  cash  was  worth 
more  than  his  commission.  The  whole  must  be 
paid  in  advance,  because  he  would  have  to  leave 
the  night  of  the  escape  —  nay,  he  would  ride  with 
the  Emperor,  giving  his  party  at  least  one  good 
sword.  Felise  must  pay  his  wife  three  thousand 
pesos  if  he  were  killed.  She  paid  him  his  money 
on  the  spot,  and  the  businesslike  interview  was 
closed. 

Next  morning  she  went  to  the  convent,  believ 
ing  it  was  the  last  day  of  her  loved  ones'  captivity. 
She  was  met  by  Del  Borgo. 

"  Have  you  seen  Colonel  Taliaferro  ?  "  asked 
she. 

"  Yes,  senorita.  He  said  he  would  be  ready, 
but  some  difficulty  has  arisen  with  the  Emperor." 


DEL   BORGO  387 

«  What  difficulty  ?  " 

« I  do  not  know.  Find  out  from  your  father, 
and  explain  to  me  when  Colonel  Palacios  is  not 
looking.  We  were  to  go  two  hours  after  mid 
night." 

Felise  went  in  to  her  father. 

"  The  Emperor  has  received  the  note,"  said 
Medina,  replying  to  her  question,  «  but  refuses  to 
fly  without  Miramon  and  M6jia.  He  is  right. 
You  must  substitute  them  for  me." 

"  But  the  plan  was  formed  for  you,  it  is  carried 
on  with  your  money,  your  danger  is  as  great, 
your  life  as  precious  !  " 

"  I  will  drop  out,"  said  Medina.  "  It  will 
make  the  chances  of  the  others  better." 

"And  when  they're  gone,  what  hope  is  there 
for  you  ?  "  exclaimed  she. 

"  Suppose  I  go,"  replied  Medina.  "  What  hope 
have  Castillo,  Aguirre,  the  others  ?  You  cannot 
save  us  all,  Felise." 

"  No,  but  I  can  save  you  and  I  will ! "  cried 
she.  «  Think  of  me,  think  of  Chona !  Unless 
you  will  go  yourself  the  work  stops  here." 

"  Is  that  threat  worthy  of  a  Medina  ?  "  asked 
he. 

«  Listen,"  said  she.  "  Since  the  Emperor  will 
not  go  without  Miramon  and  M6jia,  I  will  get 
word  to  them  ;  they  shall  go  with  you.  The  hour 
is  two  o'clock.  Will  you  be  ready  then  ?  " 

"  If  all  three  have  come  safely  down,"  said  he, 
at  last,  "  I  will  pass  out  with  them." 


388  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

"  Good-by,"  said  she,  kissing  him  tenderly. 
"  Felipe  will  be  in  the  thicket  with  the  horses. 
I  will  go  back  to  Chona  and  Dona  Casilda  until 
the  time  when  all  of  us  shall  join  you -in  New 
Orleans." 

She  passed  out  happy.  Prince  Salm  told  her 
he  was  to  play  dominoes  that  evening  with  the 
Emperor,  Mejia,  and  Miramon.  To  him  she  gave 
her  message  for  the  two  generals. 

Del  Borgo  walked  with  her  toward  the  street. 

"  The  Emperor  will  not  leave  without  Miramon 
and  Mejia,"  said  she.  "  They  must  go  too.  Prince 
Salm  will  tell  all  three.  They  and  my  father  will 
be  ready.  Are  you  sure  of  Colonel  Taliaferro  ?  " 

"  Five  of  them,  senorita  ?  " 

"  Yes,  five.  Do  not  let  my  father  wait  to  see 
if  the  others  escape.  When  you  go  for  him,  you 
must  warn  him  to  come  without  a  word." 

"  But  five  will  attract  twice  the  attention," 
protested  Del  Borgo.  "  I  told  the  princess  I 
could  save  —  there  is  Colonel  Palacios,  seno 
rita.  We  cannot  arrange  this  now." 

Palacios,  who  looked  like  a  little  hyena,  was 
watching  them  cross  the  patio.  She  spoke  be 
hind  her  fan. 

"  It  is  arranged,  senor.  If  Captain  Craviotto 
objects,  tell  him  the  reward,  for  each  of  you,  is 
not  twice,  but  many  times  as  great." 

"  I  will  do  it  if  I  can  ! "  said  Del  Borgo,  for 
getting  to  conceal  a  flash  of  cupidity,  "  but  this 
is  not  the  plan  I  said  was  certain." 


DEL   BORGO  389 

"  You  are  very  gallant,  Captain,"  said  she,  let 
ting  Palacios  hear.  «  To-morrow,  then,  at  the 
same  hour  ?  "  Then  to  Palacios  with  wiggling 
fingers,  "  How  are  you,  Colonel  ?  "  And  then  to 
Del  Borgo,  "  Adios,  mi  capitan  !  " 

"  That  girl  would  flirt  with  her  father's  under 
taker  !  "  mused  the  hyena. 

With  the  vision  of  her  father  and  Roderick 
safe  in  the  sierra,  Felise  returned  to  the  house  in 
San  Augustin,  where  the  slow  hours  passed  for 
her  in  keen  suspense  and  prayer. 

At  seven-thirty,  past  a  room  where  Del  Borgo 
lay  on  his  cot,  and  Craviotto  sat  writing,  Prince 
Salm  was  led  down  the  corridor  to  the  Emperor's 
large  cell.  There  he  found  Maximilian,  Miramon, 
and  Mejia. 

Under  the  eye  of  a  sentry  pacing  the  corridor, 
the  four  gentlemen  sat  down  to  their  dominoes. 
They  were  supposed  to  speak  Spanish  only,  but 
an  occasional  loud  word  of  it  satisfied  the  soldier. 

The  Emperor  spoke  hopefully  of  future  days 
together  at  Miramar,  when,  looking  back,  they 
would  talk  of  this  game  of  dominoes  in  prison. 

Mejia  wanted  to  know  if  he  could  fish  at 
Miramar — he  liked  fishing  better  than  any 
thing. 

Maximilian  assured  him  that  he  should  fish  to 
his  heart's  content. 

Miramon  was  even  more  cheerful  than  the 
others.  The  intelligence  that  made  him  the 
greatest  soldier  of  Mexico  made  him  also  a  seep- 


390  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

tic,  and  war  had  made  him  a  fatalist.  For  him 
self,  he  was  as  ready  to  be  dead  now  as  later. 
As  for  the  moment  of  death  —  bah!  If  there 
were  squirmings,  they  would  be  mechanical  and 
unimportant. 

When  Prince  Salm  told  the  others  of  the  Em 
peror's  refusal  to  go  without  them,  Miramon 
said,  "  That  was  like  your  Majesty,  but  I  wish 
you  had  gone." 

"The  plan  has  now  been  extended,"  said 
Prince  Salm.  "  All  of  you  are  to  go  out  to-night 
with  Taliaferro  and  Medina.  Del  Borgo  will 
come  for  you  at  two.  You  are  to  be  ready  to 
follow  him  in  silence." 

"  To-night  ?  "  asked  Maximilian. 

"Yes,  your  Majesty,  everything  has  been  ar 
ranged." 

"  We  will  not  go  to-night,"  said  Maximilian. 

"  Sire  !  "  exclaimed  Prince  Salm.  "  You  will 
not  throw  away  a  chance  like  this  ! " 

"  Why  to-night,  precisely  ?  "  said  the  Emperor. 

"  Why  some  other  night  ?  "  retorted  the  fiery 
little  prince, 

"The  foreign  ministers,  Baron  Lago,  Baron 
Magnus,  Mr.  Forrest,  and  Signer  Curtopassi,  are 
on  their  way  from  Mexico  to  see  me  here,"  said 
the  Emperor.  «  Having  invited  them,  I  should 
not  leave  before  they  come." 

"  Absurd  !  "  exclaimed  the  prince,  rashly.  At 
the  word,  the  Emperor's  heavy  lower  lip  came 
shut,  and  his  blue  eyes  flashed.  «  The  ministers 


DEL   BORGO  391 

are  coming  for  the  sole  purpose  of  getting  your 
Majesty  out  of  this,"  said  Salm-Salm.  «  Nothing 
could  please  them  so  much  as  to  find  you 
gone ! " 

« I  will  await  them  here,"  said  Maximilian. 
"  To-night's  plan  can  be  carried  out  later." 

"  This  is  heartbreaking,  your  Majesty  !  "  ex 
claimed  the  prince.  Miramon  smiled  grimly. 
He  had  once  used  that  phrase  himself.  "  Think 
of  that  girl's  disappointment ! "  pleaded  Salm- 
Salm.  "  Your  own  life  is  not  the  only  one 
your  Majesty  may  throw  away  by  this  post 
ponement.  The  ministers  will  not  be  here  for 
three  days.  In  two  days  the  guard  will  be 
changed." 

"  Del  Borgo  is  not  the  only  one  of  his  kind 
among  our  enemies,"  replied  Maximilian. 

At  two,  Del  Borgo  came.  The  avenue  to  life 
lay  open,  and  Maximilian  said,  «  Not  now  ! " 

At  six  in  the  morning,  the  servant  Felipe,  hav 
ing  waited  all  night  in  the  thickets,  came  to 
Felise  and  said,  "  They  did  not  come  ! " 

That  afternoon  the  Emperor  decided  not  to 
wait  for  the  ambassadors  —  he  would  go  that 
night. 

But  before  night,  a  rumor  of  escape  had  spread, 
and  Del  Borgo's  regiment,  the  Cazadores  de 
Galeana,  was  relieved  a  day  ahead  of  time. 
Colonels  Palacios  and  Villanueva  took  charge  of 
the  prisoners  in  person.  A  lamp  burned  all 
night  on  the  floor  of  the  Emperor's  room.  Next 


392  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

morning,  Salm-Salm,  Medina,  Castillo,  Aguirre, 
and  the  other  generals  were  transferred  to  the 
Casino.  Maximilian,  Miramon,  and  Me"jia  were 
taken  to  the  convent  of  the  Capucins.  About  it 
were  camped  a  thousand  men. 


IV 

DON    JOSE 

WALKING  toward  Santa  Teresa,  the  day  after 
the  Emperor  had  thrown  away  his  golden  oppor 
tunity,  Felise  saw  her  father  in  a  cab  with  Gen 
eral  Castillo  and  the  Minister  Aguirre.  There 
were  other  cabs,  all  occupied  by  Imperial  gen 
erals,  all  closely  guarded  by  cavalry.  Maddened 
with  the  fear  that  they  were  being  taken  to  ex 
ecution,  the  girl  passed  somehow  through  the 
line  of  hoofs  and  sabres,  reached  the  cab,  and 
seized  her  father's  arm. 

"  Where  are  they  taking  you  ?  "  gasped  she. 

"  Felise  !  "  exclaimed  he.  «  Be  careful !  We 
are  only  going  to  better  quarters.  Captain ! 
Open  your  files  there  for  my  girl.  Go  back, 
Felise.  You  shall  see  me  to-morrow  in  the 
Casino." 

Felise  went  home  trembling,  wrote  a  second 
letter  to  Don  Jose,  and  sent  it  by  special  courier. 

Returning  with  the  advocates,  the  princess 
was  bitterly  disappointed  at  the  needless  failure 
of  the  Del  Borgo  plan,  but  instantly  set  to  work 
upon  another.  The  separation  of  the  Emperor, 
Don  Miguel,  and  Roderick  divided  the  energies 

393 


394  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

of  Felise  and  the  princess.  One  warily  ap 
proached  the  Colonels  Villanueva  and  Palacios ; 
the  other  waited  for  Don  Jose. 

On  the  8th  of  June,  after  three  weeks  of 
deliberation,  came  the  first  act  of  the  Supreme 
Government  in  the  matter  of  the  Imperialist 
prisoners.  The  subalterns  in  Santa  Teresa  were 
to  be  released  at  noon  —  a  decree  bringing  liberty 
to  Sarnette.  Two  days  more  would  decide  the 
fate  of  all  officers  below  the  grade  of  general, 
among  them  Taliaferro's. 

At  ten  o'clock  there  arrived  in  Quer6taro  a 
muddy  brigadier,  escorted  by  half  a  dozen  sol 
diers.  De  Castro  had  left  his  brigade  in  the 
field.  He  rode  to  Santa  Teresa,  and  asked  a  few 
questions  of  the  prison  commandant.  The  com 
mandant's  adjutant  looked  up  a  name,  number, 
and  cell ;  a  sergeant  led  the  general  to  it.  He 
merely  looked  in,  saw  Taliaferro,  and  went  from 
the  prison  to  the  quarters  of  one  Lieutenant- 
colonel  Castera,  to  whom  he  talked  a  little,  and 
gave  a  promise  of  promotion. 

Going  to  the  Red  Eagle,  he  changed  his  uni 
form,  swallowed  a  cup  of  coffee,  and  went  to 
5,  San  Augustin. 

He  was  ushered  to  a  long  reception  room  over 
looking  the  street,  and  heard  the  voice  of  Felise 
in  conversation  with  the  princess.  When  the 
girl  entered,  she  greeted  him  formally,  then 
quickly  changed  from  "  you  "  to  "  thou,"  as  being 
more  cousinly. 


DON   JOSE  395 

"  So  you've  given  up  your  little  schemes  ?  " 
said  he.  "  You  might  have  saved  trouble  by 
taking  my  word  for  their  futility." 

"  This  is  the  finest  thing  you  have  ever  done," 
said  she,  determined  to  let  him  take  nothing  for 
granted. 

"  What  have  I  done  ?  "  asked  he. 

"  Sacrificed  your  time,  your  duties,  to  help  — 
my  father." 

"  I  haven't  helped  him  yet,"  said  he. 

"  But  you  will,"  coaxed  she.  "  It  is  not  like 
you  to  begin  and  not  succeed."  Perhaps  her 
eyes  were  arguing  better  than  her  words. 

"  Except  where  you  are  concerned,"  said  he. 

"  My  father  told  me  that  since  the  surrender 
your  influence  with  your  government  is  great. 
You  cannot  fail  to  save  him." 

"  Grant  my  power,"  said  he.  "  Why  should  I 
use  it  for  Don  Miguel  ?  " 

"  He  is  your  cousin." 

"  Who  certainly  did  not  set  me  free  when  I 
was  his  prisoner  —  who  remembers  cousinship 
when  convenient." 

«  That  is  unjust,"  said  she.  "  He  has  always 
been  your  friend.  And  I  have  never  forgotten." 

"No,"  said  he,  "you  have  played  cousin  till 
I  was  sick  of  the  word.  I  did  not  leave  my 
brigade  in  battle  to  hear  it  now,  and  you  know 
it.  I  did  not  look  for  love  from  you,  Felise,  not 
now ;  but  I  did  expect  frankness.  Your  letter 
reached  me  less  than  three  days  ago,  and  here  I 


396  RODERICK    TALIAFERRO 

am.  I  have  to  say  what  I  said  on  the  Mexican 
road.  If  I  accomplish  the  release  of  Don  Miguel 
and  Taliaferro,  what  will  be  my  reward  ?  " 

"  Would  you  bargain  like  a  Jew  for  the  lives 
of  men  ?  " 

"  To  ask  lives  for  nothing  is  worse  than  Jew 
ish  bargaining,"  retorted  he.  "  To  me  those  lives 
are  not  so  precious  as  your  love,  but  to  you  they 
are,  and  the  bargain's  fair." 

"  A  woman's  love  is  no  more  to  be  bargained 
for  than  a  man's  life.  You  cannot  say,  '  Love 
me,  and  I  will  do  this.'  Do  it,  and  then,  if  ever, 
comes  love  freely  like  the  deed."  Her  tones 
were  lying  to  him,  telling  him  there  was  hope 
of  unbought  love,  but  his  ear  caught  the  saving 
clause. 

"  No,  Felise,"  he  said.  "  The  time  for  magnani 
mous  wooing  has  gone  by.  I  would  have  won 
you  so  but  for  Taliaferro.  It  is  amazing  that  I 
desire  you  after  that,  but  I  do.  The  sight,  the 
very  thought  of  you,  maddens  me !  But  I'll 
neither  plead  for  love  nor  let  you  slip.  I'll  bar 
gain.  Once  mine,  you  will  love  me  —  God  !  how 
sweet !  And  think,  Felise  —  two  lives  for  wed 
ding  gifts.  Not  many  brides  have  such  !  " 

"  If  I  promise  to  — will  you  swear  —  no,  you 
must  have  them  released  first !  " 

"For  my  cousin,"  he  said,  "I  might  not  win 
a  pardon.  For  my  father-in-law  —  "  he  paused, 
intoxicated  with  her  blush.  Even  the  veiled 
repugnance  of  her  lips  allured  him.  To  take  her, 


DON   JOSE  397 

unwilling,  and  fill  her  with  passion !  « For 
my  own  father-in-law,"  he  repeated,  "I  should 

not  plead  in  vain.  As  for  the  other until 

your  letter  came,  and  promise  peeped  between 
its  lines,  Juarez  himself  could  not  have  saved 
him  from  me !  Now  it  depends  on  you.  Aren't 
you  flattered  by  your  power,  Felise  ?  One  little 
word  from  you,  and  those  two  are  free.  With 
out  it  —  you  know.  It  is  the  sweetest  word  in 
Spanish.  It  answers  the  question,  <  Wilt  thou 
be  mine  ?  '  " 

«  One  word  ?  "  thought  she ;  "  can  a  mere  word 
do  so  much  ?  What  was  it,  then,  this  word, 
but  a  movement  of  lips,  a  breath  ?  Must  the 
lives  of  her  loved  ones  miserably  perish  because 
she  could  not  say  '  Yes '  ?  How  easy  to  say ! 
Yet,  ah,  the  consequences ! "  There  rose  the 
vision  of  life-long  slavery  of  heart  and  body. 
There  came  the  temptation  to  form  the  talis- 
manic  syllable,  by  its  mere  utterance  to  set  mov 
ing  the  machinery  of  salvation,  and  afterward 
—  to  break  her  word !  Ah,  yes,  the  word  was 
more  than  breath.  Honor  was  in  it,  it  was  her 
word;  her  mind  as  well  as  her  lips  must  say  "  Yes." 

She  started.  Her  lips  had  said  it !  She  had 
said  it  as  a  diver,  hesitating  at  perilous  height, 
suddenly  finds  himself  in  mid-air  with  half  his 
mind  still  saying,  "  I  will  not !  "  With  a  shock 
like  that  of  striking  water,  she  found  herself  in 
the  arms  of  Don  Jose,  his  passion  flaming,  his 
lips  seeking  her  kiss. 


398  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

Till  then  he  had  played  chess  with  her  hopes 
and  fears,  and  moved  toward  checkmate,  but 
then  every  hostile  instinct  rose  against  him.  In 
his  siege  he  had  counted  on  her  physical  passion 
as  upon  a  traitor,  friendly  to  him,  within  the 
city  of  her  nature.  But  that  passion  was  loyal 
to  its  sovereign,  her  heart. 

She  struggled  from  him  with  blazing  eyes,  and 
barely  checked  the  words,  "  I  hate  you  !  "  "  Those 
two  are  still  in  prison,  Don  Jos6!"  she  cried. 
"  When  will  you  set  them  free  ?  " 

"  As  soon  as  we  are  married,"  answered  he. 

"  No,"  said  she ;  "  even  a  day's  delay  is  danger 
ous —  a  week  would  be  fatal." 

"  Therefore  let  us  not  delay  a  day,"  said 
he. 

She  threw  away  the  futile  shield  of  inten 
tional  misunderstanding.  "  Since  there  is  no 
recourse,  I  will  marry  you ! "  she  exclaimed ; 
"  but  after  the  pardon  of  those  two." 

"  How  easy  it  would  then  be  not  to  do  it ! " 
said  he,  as  though  he  had  read  her  thoughts 
when  she  said  "  Yes." 

"  Harder  for  me  than  for  you  to  leave  them 
to  their  fate ! "  she  retorted.  "  Oh,  Don  Jose, 
what  would  our  lives  be  without  one  grain  of 
faith  in  one  another !  Do  not  force  me  to  it,  do 
not  desire  it ! " 

"  Do  not  desire ! "  he  cried.  "  Tell  the  tide 
to  cease  and  the  sun  to  stop !  Will  you  never 
understand  that,  once  mine,  you  will  be  happy  ? 


DON   JOSfi  399 

Can't  you  guess  the  bliss  your  beauty  will  be  ?  " 
His  eyes  devoured  her. 

Through  the  sunlit  morning  came  the  notes  of 
a  bugle  over  at  Santa  Teresa.  The  process  of 
liberation  was  beginning;  prison  doors  were 
opening ;  men  were  going  forth  free,  bidding 
good-by  to  comrades  who  remained  immured. 

« Have  you  no  heart  ? "  cried  Felise,  as  it 
all  came  home  to  her.  "  You  call  your  pas 
sion  love,  but  if  you  had  one  touch  of  the  true 
love's  tenderness,  you  could  not  make  me  suffer 
so!" 

In  him  her  cry  set  vibrating  the  all-but-for 
gotten  chord  of  pity ;  and  in  his  darkness  came 
a  gleam  of  the  true  love's  light.  "  Are  you  quite 
blameless  if  my  heart  is  hard  ?  "  he  asked.  "Did 
you  show  me  any  pity  ?  In  a  proud  man  your 
blow  was  mortal  to  tenderness.  I  have  done 
ruthless  things,  but  I  was  never  more  ruthless 
than  you  were  with  me  !  " 

"Is  it  manly  to  blame  me  for  your  faults? 
Men  have  loved  vainly,  and  pain  has  softened 
them." 

"  I'm  not  the  softening  kind,"  said  he. 

She  admired  him. 

"Well,  well,"  said  he,  reading  the  favoring 
signs,  "  the  past  is  past,  and  we  can  be  married 
to-morrow." 

"  Not  till  those  two  are  safe  ! "  insisted  she. 

He  turned  abruptly.  "I  am  going  back  to 
my  brigade,"  said  he. 


400  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

The  movement  was  skilful ;  she  told  him  to 
come  to-morrow  for  his  answer. 

"  I  will  give  you  till  then,  and  no  longer,"  said 
he,  as  he  went  out. 

She  sat  down  and  faced  stern  facts.  She 
must  choose  and  not  swerve.  She  must  marry 
Don  Jose  next  day,  or  —  let  the  others  die. 
Well,  then  — !  He  thought  he  was  going  to 
teach  her  to  love.  In  her  heart  was  born  the 
hope  that  she  could  verily  teach  him,  and  so 
redeem  his  strong  and  selfish  soul. 


HE    THAT    LOSETH    HIS    LIFE 

WHEN  it  was  announced  that  the  subalterns  in 
Santa  Teresa  would  be  released  within  the  hour, 
the  lucky  ones  could  scarcely  credit  their  good 
fortune. 

It  was  not  an  unmixed  pleasure  to  go  forth 
free,  when  one  had  to  leave  behind  one's  com 
panions  in  arms  and  miseries. 

Down  through  the  cells  went  the  order  for  the 
subalterns  to  assemble  in  the  patio.  Taliaferro 
sat  at  the  head  of  his  bunk,  which  consisted  of 
six  feet  of  flagstone  and  a  blanket.  Sarnette 
was  packing  —  a  three-minute  task. 

"  I'm  sorry  to  leave  you  here,  old  man,"  said 
the  lieutenant,  apologetically.  Feeling  the  feeble 
ness  of  the  remark,  he  fumbled  in  the  pocket  of 
the  blouse  which  he  had  not  yet  donned,  found 
a  package  of  imitation  Havana  cigarettes  and  a 
box  of  double-ended  wax  matches.  These  treas 
ures  he  held  out  to  the  man  who  was  to  remain 
in  prison.  Taliaferro  absently  re-rolled  and  lit 
one  of  the  cigarettes. 

"We  can  be  glad  that  one  of  us  is  through 
with  this,  Fernand,"  said  he. 

2o  401 


402  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

"  Even  if  you  colonels  do  get  six  years,"  said 
Sarnette,  "  they  won't  hold  you  that  long  —  not 
anything  like  that  long.  As  soon  as  Juarez  is 
firmly  established,  there  will  be  a  general  am 
nesty,  and  you  will  all  get  out." 

"  I  think  there's  no  doubt  of  that,"  said  the 
other,  but  he  lied.  De  Castro,  who  had  looked 
silently  into  his  cell  an  hour  before,  made  it 
more  than  doubtful. 

There  was  a  silence,  in  which  Sarnette's  sense 
of  guilt  deepened.  In  vain  he  reminded  himself 
that  he  was  to  blame  neither  for  his  own  release 
nor  Taliaferro's  detention.  "  I  would  have  been 
a  colonel  if  I  could,"  said  he  to  himself. 

"  Will  you  see  Felise  for  me  ? "  asked  Talia- 
ferro. 

"  I'll  do  anything  on  earth  for  you ! "  broke 
out  Sarnette. 

"Find  out  why  she  never  comes,  why  she 
avoids  me,  what  she  is  doing  for  her  father, 
what  De  Castro  is  doing  —  everything  !  " 

Sarnette  sat  down  and  thought.  He  grew 
more  and  more  dejected. 

"  You  must  help  her,  Fernand,"  said  Roderick. 
"  You  must  get  Don  Miguel  out  of  the  Casino. 
You  must  keep  that  girl  from  De  Castro ! " 

Sarnette  looked  inadequate.  He  thought  of 
De  Castro's  visit.  He  sat  looking  into  space. 
Suddenly  he  sprang  up  with  smiling  lips  and 
flashing  eyes.  He  picked  up  Taliaferro's  blouse, 
put  it  on,  buttoned  it  up.  Upon  its  sleeve  shone 


HE   THAT  LOSETH   HIS  LIFE  403 

the  colonel's  four  gold  bands.  His  own  subaltern's 
blouse  he  tossed  down  upon  Taliaferro's  knees. 

"Put  that  on  and  get  out  of  this,"  he  com 
manded  gruffly. 

Having  seen  them  together,  coatless,  and 
without  insignia,  and  calling  them  by  number, 
their  guards  knew  they  were  Taliaferro  and 
Sarnette,  but  probably  not  one  would  know 
which  was  which. 

"Do  you  think  I'd  leave  you  imprisoned  in 
my  place  ?  "  exclaimed  Taliaferro. 

"  Not  being  an  idiot,  you  will,"  said  Sarnette. 

« I  can't  do  it,  Fernand." 

«  Get  out  of  this ! "  reiterated  Fernand.  "  I'll 
claim  you  took  advantage  of  my  sleep  to  pass 
yourself  off  as  me.  I'm  feeling  drowsy  now," 
he  added,  yawning  elaborately. 

Taliaferro  was  tempted. 

"  They're  forming  in  the  patio.  Get  out,  or  it 
will  be  too  late." 

Taliaferro  did  not  start. 

« I  haven't  a  thing  to  do  outside,"  urged  Sar 
nette.  « I  stay  now,  and  get  out  to-morrow  or 
next  week.  You  stay,  and  it  means  months 
anyway,  even  if  De  Castro  doesn't  have  you 
killed.  He  won't  hurt  me." 

Taliaferro  weakened. 

"Felise  needs  you,  Taliaferro.  You've  no 
right  to  refuse  liberty  when  it  means  power  to 
help  her." 

Taliaferro    reached  over  and  squeezed  the  vi- 


404  RODERICK  TALIAFERRO 

comte's  hand.  "  No  words  can  say  what  I  think 
of  this,  Fernand,"  said  he. 

"  Get  out,  get  out !  "  replied  Fernand. 

So  Taliaferro  walked  out  of  Santa  Teresa  as  a 
subaltern.  As  they  went  up  the  street,  several 
fellow-officers  asked  him  how  'he  had  managed 
it.  He  did  not  tell.  Their  interest  was  friendly, 
but  they  were  too  apt  to  talk.  They  would  soon 
notice  Sarnette's  absence.  Taliaferro  explained 
to  McBurney  only  what  Fernand  had  done. 
Suddenly  he  saw  De  Castro  coming  toward  them 
along  the  narrow  sidewalk. 

"  Come  in  here  !  "  he  exclaimed  to  McBurney, 
and  stepped  into  a  little  baker's  shop.  "  Stand 
between  me  and  the  door." 

De  Castro  passed.  He  did  not  notice  the  man 
buying  bread. 

McBurney  bade  Taliaferro  good-by.  He  was 
going  back  to  Missouri.  "  Yanks  are  better  than 
Chinacos,  anyhow,"  said  he.  "  Been  licked  twice 
now  soldierin',  and  am  goin'  to  quit." 

Roderick  went  alone  into  the  Calle  de  San 
Augustin.  Over  a  heavy  arch  in  a  pale  green 
wall  he  found  the  numeral  5,  and  knew  that 
back  of  those  barred  windows  was  Felise.  At 
the  fall  of  the  knocker,  the  porter's  face  appeared 
at  the  little  hinged  window,  and  the  question  of 
admittance  was  settled  by  Pepita.  Taliaferro 
followed  her  across  the  patio,  and  up  a  jasper 
stairway  which  Don  Jose  had  descended  five 
minutes  before. 


HE   THAT  LOSETH   HIS  LIFE  405 

After  the  prison,  Roderick's  eyes  drank  the 
coolness  of  frond-shadowed  marble,  his  feet  fell 
silent  in  deep  textures,  and  he  felt  the  full  charm 
of  a  cloistered  Mexican  home  —  a  house  built 
inward  on  itself  and  shutting  out  the  world. 
Freedom  was  within  it.  But  no  stone  walls  and 
no  chainbolts  could  shut  out  the  conflict  which 
had  rent  the  nation.  Sanctuary  as  it  seemed, 
this  spot  was  also  the  scene  of  a  struggle,  not  of 
armies,  but  of  passions  and  motives  whose  battle 
ground  was  the  heart  of  a  girl. 

Roderick  paced  the  room,  trying  to  think 
clearly  in  spite  of  the  sweet  tension  of  his  heart. 
He  heard  Felise  coming,  the  curtain  opened,  she 
was  there,  she  came  to  him. 

"  Thank  God,  you  have  escaped ! "  she  ex 
claimed  fervently  and  -with  glad  eyes.  Then  a 
shadow  crossed,  and  dropping  the  instinctive 
"  thou,"  she  asked  how  it  had  happened. 

"  Felise  !  "  said  Roderick.  Something  made 
breath  hard  to  draw,  words  hard  to  say.  He 
was  not  bent  just  then  on  explanations. 

"  Tell  me,"  she  commanded. 

«  Won't  you  give  me  a  moment  to  look  —  to 
know  that  it  is  indeed  Felise?" 

"  Are  you  in  danger  of  recapture  ?  We'll  hide 
you  here,  and  get  you  through  the  lines  to-night." 

"  Are  you  in  such  haste  to  be  rid  of  me  ? " 
asked  he. 

She  shook  her  head. 

« I  came  from  Santa  Teresa  in  place  of  Fer- 


406  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

nand,"  he  said,  "  but  not  for  the  purpose  of  flying 
from  Queretaro.  I  came  to  help  you,  not  to  be 
helped." 

« What  help  can  you  be  if  you  yourself  are 
in  danger  of  recapture  ?  " 

"  I'd  risk  worse  than  that  to  help  you.  Don't 
you  know  that  my  life  is  for  you  ?  Outside  of 
Mexico  I  have  nothing,  no  one.  In  it  I  have 
only  you.  Do  you  think  I  would  leave  this 
place  with  you  here  in  distress  ? " 

"  My  anxiety  for  you  was  as  great  as  for  my 
father.  Would  you  plunge  me  into  it  again  ?  " 

"  I'll  not  be  caught  if  I  can  help  it,"  he  replied. 
"  Oh,  tell  me,  sweetheart,  what  has  estranged 
you  ?  Did  you  send  for  Don  Jose  ?  " 

She  grew  paler.  "What  makes  you  think  I 
did  ?  "  she  asked. 

"Will  you  tell  me  your  plan  to  save  your 
father  ?  " 

"  I  cannot,"  she  said. 

"  That's  why  I  think  you  did  —  because  you're 
holding  aloof,  withholding  your  confidence.  Hwoe 
you  promised  him  anything,  Felise  ?  " 

The  question  was  like  an  arrow.  She  put  up 
her  hand  as  though  to  keep  it  from  her  heart. 

"  Must  I  struggle  against  you,  too  ?  "  she  said 
wearily.  "  It  is  hard  to  have  you  blame  me  for 
what  I  cannot  help." 

He  took  her  unresponding  hands.  "  Can't  you 
trust  me  with  it  all,  dear  girl,  knowing  I  will  do 
what  is  best  for  you  —  and  for  your  father  ?  " 


HE  THAT  LOSETH   HIS  LIFE  407 

She  had  been  struggling  alone  —  against  odds. 
She  was  tired.  How  sweet  it  was  to  be  strong ! 
How  big  his  hand  was !  Ah,  but  it  was  not 
strong  enough  to  rend  the  nets  of  Fate !  She 
drew  back.  Her  own  strength,  such  as  it  was, 
must  serve.  "  There's  nothing  you  can  do,  Don 
Roderick,"  said  she,  sadly.  «  All  ways  have  been 
tried  —  all  ways  but  one." 

"  Do  you  actually  intend  to  give  yourself  to 
Don  Jose?" 

She  covered  her  face. 

The  fire  in  his  heart  burst  forth.  "Do  you 
believe  that  God  or  man  can  sanction  the  sale  of 
your  soul !  "  he  raged.  «  Yes,  sale !  Your  father's 
life  the  price !  Better  I  say  for  Don  Miguel  to 
die  with  honor  than  keep  life  bought  with  your 
shame ! " 

"  Shame  !  "  cried  she.  "  The  shame  would  be 
if,  having  power  to  save  him,  I  let  my  father  die  ! 
There  is  no  misery  so  great  as  to  go  through  life 
with  that  sin  burned  upon  my  soul !  It  does  not 
become  you,  Senor  Taliaferro,  to  speak  so  of  my 
marriage  with  another." 

«  You  may  call  it  marriage,  Felise  ! " 

"  I  never  dreamed  you'd  go  as  far  as  insult ! " 

"  Truth  is  not  gentle,  but  it  may  do  good.  You 
do  not  love  De  Castro,  and  no  priest's  rite  can 
add  one  jot  of  sanctity  to  your  union  ! " 

"  You  are  not  the  man  to  tell  me  that !  " 

"  I  sin  against  good  manners  to  be  true  to  a 
deeper  obligation." 


408  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

"  I  see  no  such  obligation." 

"  It  rose  at  Tacubaya,  when  you  said,  '  I  love 
you ! ' — at  Ixmiquilpan  when  you  said,  'I  love  you 
more  than  God  ! '  —  in  Mexico  where  you  said  to 
me,  '  I  will  be  your  wife  to-night ! '  "  He  spoke 
from  such  a  depth  of  memory  and  anguished 
love  that  the  hour  in  which  their  lips  and  souls 
first  met  seemed  suddenly  reborn.  Something 
profound  and  good  stilled  both  their  hearts,  and 
her  eyes  shone  with  sudden  tears. 

"  Please  do  not  quarrel  with  me,"  begged  she. 
"  It  seems  to  me  that  this  whole  world  is  hostile, 
and  I  need  your  friendship  —  oh,  so  badly  ! " 

Over  invisible  paths  her  anguish  swept  across 
him,  and  he  knew  how  her  heart  was  aching  with 
unhappy  love.  He  saw  her  conquering  herself 
for  sacrifice,  while  he  —  he  looked  deep  in  his 
heart  to  know  it  —  burned  not  with  love,  but 
jealousy.  He  there  resolved  that  he,  not  she, 
should  make  the  sacrifice  to  set  this  crooked 
straight.  For  her  own  sake,  not  for  his,  she  must 
not  marry  Don  Jos6.  But  he  saw  that  he  him 
self  must  cease  to  strive  for  the  possession  of  her. 
He  was  powerless  to  help  her  as  long  as  his 
heart  was  set  on  its  own  desire  —  its  own  selfish 
end.  He  saw  that  for  her  he  must  renounce 
desire,  self,  life  !  He  must  renounce  her  !  With 
that  thought  came  strange  peace,  —  deeper  than 
he  had  ever  known,  —  half  joy,  half  anguish,  — 
the  peace  of  the  conquered  self,  which  Jesus 
knew. 


HE   THAT    LOSETH   HIS   LIFE  409 

At  supper  sat  Felise  and  Roderick,  the  Prin 
cess  Salm  and  Padre  Geronimo.  The  princess 
kept  up  conversation,  rebuking  Felise  for  her 
silence,  and  trying  to  draw  Taliaferro  into  an 
account  of  his  bull-fight.  Failing  to  launch  him 
on  that,  she  demanded  an  account  of  a  sortie  in 
which  he  had  won  the  medal  " for  military 
valor." 

"  We  were  on  the  hill,  Princess,"  said  he,  "  and 
the  Supremos  Poderes  were  at  the  foot  of  it. 
They  had  us  cut  off  from  town.  The  cannon  were 
blazing  away  at  our  flanks.  We  ran  away  from 
the  cannon,  and  into  the  Supremos.  Their  own 
shells  went  into  them,  and  scared  them  so  that 
about  two  hundred  of  'em  ran  into  town  and 
became  our  prisoners." 

"That  sounds  to  me  just  like  the  things  for 
which  men  get  medals  of  valor,"  said  the  prin 
cess,  with  amiable  irony. 

"  Maximilian  was  hardly  chary  enough  with 
his  decorations,"  said  Taliaferro. 

"  Do  not  speak  of  him  so  in  the  past  tense ! " 
exclaimed  the  princess,  the  needless  outburst  re 
vealing  overworked  nerves.  "  I  will  not  believe 
him  destined  to  succumb  to'Chinaco  bullets!" 

"If  he  does  not,  your  Highness,"  said  Talia 
ferro,  "  the  credit  will  be  yours." 

"If  he  does,"  said  Padre  Geronimo,  quietly, 
"  it  is  God's  will."  His  calm  tones  were  as  oil 
on  the  waters  of  emotion.  "  Great  love  had 
Abraham  for  his  son  Isaac,"  went  on  the  padre, 


410  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

"and  through  that  love  our  God  made  trial  of 
him."  He  might  have  been  quoting  a  sermon,  but 
by  some  magic  in  his  voice  Abraham  and  Isaac 
became  as  real  to  Taliaferro  as  Miguel  and 
Felise.  "  Great  love  had  Job  for  his  seven  sons  ; 
God  took  them  from  him  in  a  single  day.  Thus 
He  is  wont  to  do  with  those  He  loves,  for  in  this 
way  do  they  declare  the  love  they  have  for  Him, 
and  thus  hath  He  occasion  to  manifest  His 
mercies." 

"  Mercies ! "  exclaimed  the  princess,  impa 
tiently. 

"  I  grant  you,  Princess,  that  the  flesh  doth  not 
understand  such  language,  being  wholly  absorbed 
by  the  feeling  of  its  pain  and  loss.  But  if  God 
be  in  us,  we  have  to  bridle  the  feeling  of  the 
flesh,  making  it  obey  reason  and  the  will  of  the 
Lord." 

"  He  is  Don  Miguel's  confessor,"  said  the 
princess,  low  to  Taliaferro.  "  The  sermon  is  for 
Felise,  and  it  helps  her." 

"Though  His  will  be  painful,  we  must  not 
corrupt  it  with  our  own,"  said  Geronimo.  "  Re 
membering  the  anguish  of  our  Lord  which  made 
Him  sweat  drops  of  blood  when  He  said, '  Father, 
not  my  will  but  thine  be  done ! '  we  also,  saying 
this,  must  take  up  our  cross  and  follow  Him  as 
the  ewe  lamb  followeth  the  shepherd,  even  at  the 
cost  of  life  !  " 

Beneath  all  the  immense  difference  of  ideas, 
Taliaferro  perceived  that  the  feeling  of  Geronimo 


HE   THAT   LOSETH   HIS   LIFE  411 

was  the  feeling  that  had  come  to  him  that  after 
noon.  "  Do  you  advise  the  princess  to  let  things 
take  their  course  and  make  no  effort  to  save  the 
Emperor  ?  "  he  asked. 

"  No,  seiior,  but  when  we  have  done  our  human 
best,  we  must  accept  God's,  preferring  it  to  our 
own." 

"  It  is  not  good  for  men  to  console  themselves 
with  fatalism,"  said  the  princess.  «  That  is  the 
trouble  with  you  Mexicans.  We  need  strong 
wills  to  come  through  this  world.  We-  will  never 
succeed  in  anything  if  we  think  God  is  going  to 
settle  it  anyway." 

"  I  agree  with  your  Highness,"  said  Taliaferro, 
"  and  yet  I  must  admit  that  the  doctrine  of  the 
padre  has  riot,  in  his  own  case,  sapped  power  to 
act.  I  saw  him  on  the  plain  of  Carretas  among 
the  bullets  —  carrying  water  and  absolution  to 
the  wounded.  The  enemy  being  repulsed,  and 
our  own  bullets  ricochetting  across  the  plain,  he 
rode  out  between  the  armies  to  do  the  same 
office  for  our  wounded  enemies.  And  so,  how 
ever  we  may  disagree  in  doctrine,  I  take  off  my 
hat  to  Padre  Geronimo." 

The  padre  smiled.  "  Thanks  for  your  defence, 
senor,"  said  he,  "  but  instead  of  to  me,  you  will 
take  off  your  hat  to  that  Captain  who  permits  no 
fear  to  assail  His  soldiers." 

Roderick  was  strongly  attracted  by  this  man 
who  moved  unshaken,  armored  in  ancient  faith, 
desiring  nothing  in  this  world,  indifferent  to  life 


412  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

and  death.  Whether  his  was  the  highest  selfish 
ness  or  the  highest  love,  his  nature  was  an  abso 
lute  monarchy  without  rebels  —  how  different 
from  poor,  silent  Felise  here,  whose  heart  and 
conscience  were  so  bitterly  and  blindly  strug 
gling  !  The  wave  of  tenderness  which  then 
swept  over  Roderick  was  the  best  and  sweetest 
of  human  emotions.  And  yet  it  rekindled  in 
him  the  irresistible  desire  not  only  to  console, 
but  to  possess  her,  not  only  to  ward  from  her 
heart  the  blows  of  Fate,  but  to  fold  her  in  his 
own  heart,  making  her  a  very  part  of  him.  To 
be  one  with  the  beloved  —  that  was  the  craving 
he  had  so  short  a  time  ago  renounced. 

But  Padre  Geronimo !  His  heart  burned 
through  a  lifetime  with  one  unwavering  flame; 
he  never  renounced  his  renunciation ;  and  so, 
amid  environing  battles  of  the  spirit  and  the 
flesh,  he  preserved  his  cloistered  peace. 

Into  Roderick's  heart  rose  Love's  unseen  flood 
—  rose  and  was  stilled  and  held  at  poise.  The 
voices  of  the  princess  and  the  padre  reached 
but  the  porches  of  his  mind.  Within  him  fell 
a  hush  such  as  comes  upon  deep  woods  at  sun 
set,  when  Nature  seems  waiting  for  God  to  say 
something. 

In  that  hush,  two  half-thoughts  came  together 
in  his  mind,  and  his  plan  was  born. 

«  Padre ! " 

The    patio    gleamed    moonlit.       The    speaker 


HE   THAT   LOSETII    HIS   LIFE  413 

stood  in  the  shadow  of  a  vase  at  the  foot  of  the 
jasper  stairs. 

"Is  it  you,  senor?"  asked  Padre  Geronimo, 
descending. 

"  It  is  Taliaferro.  I  have  been  waiting  to 
speak  to  you  as  you  left  the  house." 

"  I  do  not  leave  it,"  said  the  padre.  "  I  am 
living  here.  I  came  out  —  who  knows  —  to  med 
itate  ?  Perhaps  with  secret  guidance  to  your 
need.  What  is  it,  senor  ?  " 

Quer^taro  was  quiet.  Into  cells  where  prison 
ers  awaited  death  poured  deep  and  tender  light. 
At  5,  San  Augustin  all  slept,  save  Felise  in  vigil 
by  her  alcove  shrine,  and  in  the  patio  the  soldier 
and  the  priest,  whose  voices  were  not  louder 
than  the  murmuring  fountain. 

"  You  are  Don  Miguel  Medina's  confessor, 
Padre  Geronimo." 

«  Yes." 

"  Do  you  have  access  to  his  cell  in  the  Casino  ?  " 

«  Daily." 

«  After  dark  ?  " 

"  Yes.     I  go  about  eight  each  evening." 

"  Is  the  password  of  the  prison  given  to  you  ?  " 

« It  is." 

"  To-morrow  night  I  want  that  password,  your 
cassock  and  hat,  and  direction  to  the  cell  of 
Don  Miguel." 

"  For  what  purpose,  senor  ?  "  asked  the  priest, 
studying  his  questioner. 

Taliaferro  scrutinized  in  his  turn  the  face  be- 


414  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

fore  him.  The  moonlight  increased  its  pallor ; 
shadows  threw  out  sharply  the  high  cheek-bones 
and  long,  thin  nose.  Deep-set  eyes  burned  with 
an  inner  fire  which  had  consumed  what  was 
earthly  in  the  man.  "  I  meant  to  conceal  my 
purpose,  Padre,"  said  Taliaferro,  "but  truth  is 
easier,  and  if  I  read  you  aright,  more  effective. 
I  ask  secrecy.  My  purpose  is  to  send  Don 
Miguel  forth,  and  remain  there  in  his  place." 

"  And  if  in  his  place  you  are  shot  ?  "  came  the 
quiet  inquiry. 

"  The  father  of  Felise  will  nevertheless  be 
alive  in  the  sierra." 

The  priest's  eyes  flashed.  "  So  thou  art  capa 
ble  of  this  !  "  he  exclaimed.  "  They  said  thou 
didst  not  believe  in  Christ ! " 

"  I  see  no  connection." 

"  No  atheist  could  do  this.  Sacrifice  is  of 
Christ." 

"  Sacrifice  is  of  love,  Padre.  Dumb  mothers 
knew  it  millions  of  years  before  mankind  ap 
peared  upon  this  green,  cloud-girdled  earth." 

The  padre  lacked  the  kind  of  reading  which 
would  have  enabled  his  mind  to  follow  Talia- 
ferro's  into  that  dark  backward  and  abysm  of 
prehuman  time. 

Roderick  saw  he  did  not  understand.  Some 
how  he  wanted  this  man  to  understand.  "  After 
all,  my  friend,"  he  said  gently,  "  I  am  not  an 
atheist.  In  such  a  night  as  this,  or  in  great 
music,  I  love  the  world  and  seem  to  feel  its  infi- 


HE   THAT   LOSETH   HIS   LIFE  415 

nite  heart  love  back.  And  whether  it  be  for  all 
mankind  or  for  one  woman,  Love  is  one  — 
Christ's  and  mine." 

"Hast  thou,"  asked  the  padre,  in  his  stately 
old  Spanish,  "  no  hope  of  meeting  thy  beloved 
beyond  the  grave  ?  " 

"  Sometimes  I  have  a  splendid  fancy,  if  not  a 
hope,  that  the  memory  of  her,  of  my  love,  may 
be  forever  treasured  in  the  infinite  mind." 

"  But  thou  and  she  being  without  life,  how 
shall  it  profit  thee,  though  God  remember  ? " 

"It  would  be  enough  for  me  to  feel,  though 
I  pass  and  be  as  though  I  had  not  been,  that  the 
golden  moments  of  my  life  are  not  to  be  lost 
utterly  out  of  the  world." 

"  What  feeble  hope  is  thine,  my  brother ! " 
said  the  priest.  "  I  should  not  have  strength 
to  live  in  this  world  did  I  not  know  that, 
raised  in  incorruption,  I  shall  meet  at  last  the 
love  of  my  brilliant,  worldly  youth.  Beyond 
the  grave  she's  waiting,  not  less  real  than  I 
am  here !  " 

"  It  is  pathetic  !  "  exclaimed  Roderick.  "  At 
Carretas  you  thought  a  bullet  through  your  brain 
would  send  you  to  her!  I  have  seen  men  who 
thought  they  believed  it,  but  never  with  belief 
like  yours." 

The  priest  bowed  his  head.  "No  soul  on 
earth  save  thee  hath  heard  this  thing,"  he  said. 
"  I  marvel  I  should  confess  to  you,  an  unbeliever, 
that,  even  as  Dante,  whose  volume  I  have 


416  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

searched  with  love,  I  have  worshipped  the  idol 
ized  soul  of  that  dead  lady." 

"  Belief  and  unbelief  are  of  the  intellect,"  said 
Roderick.  "  Between  us  is  a  deeper  bond.  In 
the  name  of  your  own  lost  love,  Padre  Geronimo, 
I  ask  your  help  for  mine." 

The  padre  hesitated.  From  the  confession  of 
Felise  he  knew  her  purposed  marriage  with  De 
Castro  and  its  motive.  He  had  seen  that  day 
that  she  loved  Taliaferro.  What  web  of  circum 
stance,  what  knots  of  Fate  !  Death  hanging  over 
Don  Miguel,  his  daughter  about  to  give  her 
woman's  self  as  ransom,  the  man  who  loved  her 
striving,  with  sacrifice  of  his  own  life,  to  prevent 
that  loving  prostitution  ! 

"  I  know  not  what  to  say,"  said  he. 

"  You  have  known  the  purest  love,"  said 
Roderick,  "  the  love  of  a  living  man  for  a  woman 
who  is  but  a  memory  and  —  to  you  —  a  hope. 
How  can  such  a  man  refuse  to  help  this  unhappy 
Felise  of  mine  escape  a  hateful  and  unholy  mar 
riage  ?  " 

"  It  probably  means  death  to  thee." 

"  And  if  it  does !  It  would  be  bitterer  than 
death  to  me  to  see  Felise  —  " 

"  And  what  of  her  ?  "  interrupted  the  padre. 
"  Shall  she  live  with  widowed  heart,  knowing 
the  man  she  loved  went  for  her  sake  to  death  ?  " 

"  That  sorrow  would  not  debase  her !  But 
life  with  De  Castro  —  I  tell  you,  Padre  Gero 
nimo,  that  marriage  will  make  her  an  evil  woman  ! 


HE   THAT   LOSETH    HIS   LIFE  417 

Her  glowing  heart,  capable  now  in  its  purity  of 
any  sacrifice,  would  be,  ten  years  from  now,  a 
hell ! " 

The  padre  brooded  voluptuously  and  with  un 
conscious  envy  over  Roderick's  design.  To  him, 
martyrdom  was  in  itself  sweet.  "  Have  I  the 
right  to  interfere,"  mused  he,  "when  God  has 
doomed  not  Roderick,  but  Miguel  ?  May  I  pre 
sume  to  alter  what  has  been  decreed  ?  " 

"  It  is  not  God  who  has  doomed  Miguel ! "  ex 
claimed  Roderick,  impatiently.  "  The  Republi 
cans  captured  him ;  the  Republicans  will  either 
shoot  or  not  shoot  him.  Better  they  should,  than 
that  Felise  should  marry  Don  Jose  !  But  she  with 
her  whole  soul  thinks  not !  Shall  she  forever 
hate  herself  for  parricide  ?  She's  right !  She 
can't  let  her  father  die !  But  neither  can  I  let 
her  do  worse  than  die  !  " 

Roderick's  passion  reached  the  point  where 
a  man  must  pray.  " Heart  of  the  World ! " 
breathed  he,  "  are  you  alive,  can  you  understand, 
do  you  not  feel  ?  " 

But  profound  Nature,  hushed  and  moonlit, 
seeming  to  yearn  with  pity  and  love,  was  sud 
denly  to  his  mind  only  a  soulless  mirror  giving 
back  an  infinite  image  of  his  own  living  soul. 

«  Ugh  !  "  he  exclaimed,  half  to  himself.  "  Fe 
lise,  the  Woman,  is  all  that  loves !  Padre  Gero- 
nimo,"  he  said,  "the  life,  the  soul  of  this  girl 
are  in  your  hands  and  mine.  Won't  you  help 
me?" 

2E 


418  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

"  Never  till  now,"  said  the  padre,  "  have  I  be 
held  the  workings  of  a  heart  like  thine !  Would 
thou  hadst  the  strength  to  serve  God  which  thou 
hast  to  deny  Him  !  Whether  I  do  right,  God 
knows  —  but  thou  hast  prevailed  !  " 


VI 

THE    TRIUMPH    OP    DON    JOSE 

RODERICK  inquired  eagerly  for  Felise  early  next 
morning,  and  was  told  she  had  gone  to  the  church 
of  San  Augustin.  It  was  Sunday.  At  the  win 
dow  overlooking  the  street  he  waited  impatiently 
for  her  return.  He  wanted  to  tell  her  at  once 
that  he  had  a  plan  for  the  release  of  Don  Miguel, 
and  that  she  must  drop  De  Castro. 

But  De  Castro  also  attended  service  that  morn 
ing,  at  the  church  of  San  Augustin,  and  as  Felise 
came  out  he  joined  her. 

"  I  have  written  a  letter  to  my  brother,  Don 
Pedro,  in  San  Luis,"  he  said.  "  I  will  go  home 
with  you,  and  you  shall  read  it." 

«  Not  now,"  said  Felise,  not  wishing  to  have 
Don  Jose"  walk  in  unexpectedly  upon  Talia- 
ferro. 

"See,"  said  Don  Jose",  drawing  forth  the  un 
sealed  letter. 

«  Come  this  afternoon,"  said  she ;  but  she  could 
not  keep  her  curiosity  out  of  her  eyes,  and  he 
turned  to  walk  with  her,  Pepita  following.  The 
street  glowed  with  Mexican  sunlight  falling  on 
bright  sarapes. 

419 


420  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

"  It  is  a  request  for  the  release  of  Colonel 
Taliaferro,"  said  he,  watching  her. 

"  Really  !  "  she  cried,  and  her  hand  went  out  to 
the  lovable  paper.  Then  suspicion  crossed  her. 
It  was  too  good  to  be  true  —  there  must  be  some 
trick.  She  was  on  guard  again. 

"  You  can  read  it  and  send  it  yourself,"  said 
he,  handing  it  to  her. 

She  read,  and  could  see  no  trick.  It  was  in 
deed  a  request  for  Taliaferro's  immediate  par 
don  and  release.  "  He  will  leave  here  to-day 
for  Piedras  Negras,  in  a  column  of  Imperial  field- 
officers,  under  Lieutenant-colonel  Castera,"  said 
the  note.  "  You  will  receive  this  before  the  col 
umn  reaches  San  Luis,  where  you  can  give  Cas 
tera  the  order  of  release.  Send  our  cousin  Felise 
a  telegram,  notifying  her  of  this  order." 

"  How  good  of  you ! "  said  she,  folding  the 
letter.  "  I  will  take  it  to  the  post-office  now." 
Though  Don  Jose  had  adopted  generosity,  she 
did  not  trust  him  enough  to  let  him  know  that 
Taliaferro  was  not,  as  he  supposed,  in  that  col 
umn  of  captives.  She  saw  that  the  order  would 
protect  Roderick  from  recapture.  Above  all 
things  her  instinct  warned  her  to  keep  Don  Jose 
from  knowing  he  was  then  at  5,  San  Augustin. 

They  reached  the  door  of  the  house.  Don  Jose 
stopped,  expecting  her  to  enter,  and  intending  to 
enter  with  her.  She  kept  on  toward  the  post- 
office,  half  a  square  beyond.  He  followed.  As 
he  turned  from  the  door,  a  window-curtain  stirred 


THE   TRIUMPH   OF   DON   JOS  421 

upstairs.  Don  Jose  looked  up,  saw  no  one,  and 
thought  it  must  have  been  a  servant. 

Far  down  the  street  the  sunlight  flashed  on  the 
sabres  of  approaching  cavalry. 

"  Here  they  come,"  said  Don  Jose". 

«  Who  ?  "  asked  Felise. 

"  The  prisoners  for  Piedras  Negras." 

She  started. 

«  What  luck  !  "  thought  he.  The  captive  Talia- 
ferro  should  see  him  with  Felise ! 

"  Do  they  go  on  foot  ?  "  asked  she. 

"  Yes,"  said  he.  From  her  manner  he  thought 
she  did  not  realize  the  situation. 

"  It  is  a  long  march,"  said  she. 

"  A  thousand  miles.  But  Colonel  Taliaferro 
will  not  march  so  far.  Thanks  to  that  letter," 
he  added.  She  perceived  no  hidden  meaning. 

She  kept  on  into  the  zaguan  of  the  post-office. 
Don  Jose"  watched  her  seal  and  stamp  his  letter. 
She  was  very  particular.  It  took  a  good  deal  of 
time. 

"  Make  haste,"  said  he.  «  We  must  see  them 
pass." 

Felise  laid  down  a  fifty  peso  note  to  pay  for 
the  stamp. 

"  Have  you  nothing  smaller,  senora  ? "  asked 
the  spectacled  old  clerk. 

«  Why,  yes,"  said  Don  Jose.  "  I  saw  a  peseta 
in  your  purse." 

Felise  blushed  furiously  —  perhaps  at  being 
called  senora.  Don  Jose  thought  the  blush  delicious. 


422  RODERICK  TALIAFERRO 

"  Here,"  said  he.  "  Let  me  pay  for  the  stamp. 
It  is  my  letter." 

"  I  will  need  some  change  to-day,"  said  she. 

"  On  Sunday  ? "  inquired  Don  Jose",  incredu 
lously. 

"  Yes,  please  —  if  you  have  it,"  she  said  to  the 
clerk.  "  It  will  be  a  great  favor." 

The  old  man  drew  back  the  hand  he  was  hold 
ing  out  for  the  convenient  peseta.  "  I  will  send," 
he  said.  "Just  a  moment,  senora."  He  shuffled 
from  the  window. 

The  sound  of  many  hoof  beats  came  from  the 
cobblestones. 

"  Come,"  said  Don  Jose.  "  We  will  come  back 
for  the  change."  He  saw  she  was  trying  to 
spoil  his  design  of  being  seen  by  Taliaferro. 
That  was  what  he  desired,  but  he  desired  also 
to  look  at  that  adorable  crimson  in  her  cheeks. 
He  desired  to  meet  her  eyes  and  make  them 
admit  the  clerk  had  called  her  senora.  He 
wanted  her  to  know  he  knew  the  word  made 
her  think  of  herself  as  his  wife.  "  Senora ! " 
said  he,  softly.  She  turned  her  back. 

The  column  was  passing,  men  and  horses 
framed  in  the  arch  of  the  entrance. 

«  Come  ! "  said  he. 

She  looked  into  the  stamp  window. 

"  God  !  how  sweet  she  is ! "  thought  he.  He 
looked  out.  Half  the  prisoners  were  past !  He 
saw  Lieutenant-colonel  Castera.  Leaving  Felise, 
De  Castro  hastened  to  the  street,  and  called. 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  DON  JOSft  423 

Castera  saluted,  came  back,  dismounted.  Fe- 
lise  could  not  hear  his  words.  She  thought  her 
ruse  had  failed.  Surely  Don  Jose  would  find 
out  now !  She  dropped  the  letter  in  the  slot 
beneath  the  clerk's  window. 

The  rearmost  prisoners  were  passing,  unshaven, 
hungry,  some  old,  some  not  well  of  wounds,  some 
bright  with  fever,  some  tottering  with  dysentery, 
unfit  to  walk  a  step,  but  setting  out  that  hour  to 
walk  a  thousand  miles  in  sun  and  rain.  Many 
would  not  go  far.  They  would  prefer  to  lie 
down  by  summer  roads,  and  let  the  bullets  of 
their  guards  end  all. 

Don  Jose  stood  looking  after  the  prisoners. 

"  There  he  is,"  said  Castera,  pointing. 

"Where?"  said  Don  Jose\  «I  don't  see 
him. " 

«  Don  Jose" !  "  called  Felise.  "  Am  I  to  be  left 
standing  here  by  myself  all  day  ?  " 

De  Castro  and  Castera  looked  around.  "  In  a 
moment,  senorita,"  said  Don  Jose.  He  looked 
back  at  the  prisoners,  but  Lieutenant-colonel 
Castera  continued  to  look  at  the  girl  who  stood 
by  the  stamp  window,  tapping  a  petulant  foot. 
He  gave  the  general  a  questioning  glance. 

"  My  cousin,"  said  De  Castro,  still  looking  for 
Taliaferro.  He  fancied  he  saw  the  well-hated 
back.  «  Are  you  sure  you  know  your  man,  Col 
onel  ?  "  asked  he. 

"  Perfectly,  General.  I  talked  with  him  last 
night  after  you  spoke  to  me." 


424  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

"  I  count  on  your  discretion,  Castera,"  said 
Don  Jose. 

"  You  may,  sir,  absolutely." 

"  You  might  call  on  my  brother,  Don  Pedro,  in 
San  Luis.  There  is  no  reason  to  tell  him  of  our 
—  conversation.  The  prisoner  tried  to  escape, 
that's  all.  It  is  through  Don  Pedro  that  I  will 
secure  your  promotion." 

"  Thank  you,  General."  With  another  look  at 
the  stamp  window,  Castera  turned  to  mount. 
Catching  up  with  his  column,  he  looked  again 
at  the  man  marked  for  roadside  death.  It  was 
the  Vicomte  de  Sarnette,  who,  to  insure  his 
friend's  security,  had  continued  to  play  the  role 
of  Taliaferro. 

"  Poor  devil !  "  mused  Castera.  "  Where  did  I 
hear  that  this  Taliaferro  was  too  fond  of  looking 
at  those  same  eyes  ?  Little  she  knows  or  cares  !  " 
The  lieutenant-colonel  had  to  remind  himself 
of  the  new  gold  band  that  was  to  glitter  on 
his  sleeve. 

Felise  was  receiving  her  change  when  Don 
Jose  came  back  from  the  street.  He  was  vexed 
because  she  had  defeated  his  purpose.  She 
wondered  if  he  had  discovered  Taliaferro's 
absence. 

"  The  letter  to  Don  Pedro  said  nothing  of  my 
father,"  said  she. 

"  I  will  go  to  your  house,"  he  said,  "  and  tell 
you  why." 

"  No  one  is  here,"  said  she,  looking  about  the 


THE   TRIUMPH   OF  DON  JOSti  425 

deserted  corridor.  Pepita  was  still  staring  after 
the  prisoners. 

"  Why  are  you  so  unwilling  to  have  me  enter 
the  house  ?  "  asked  he. 

"  I  am  not  receiving  calls  this  morning,  Don 
Jose,"  said  she.  «  Tell  me  about  my  father.  Why 
have  you  not  written  of  him  also  to  Don  Pedro  ?  " 

"  The  release  of  an  obscure  colonel  like  Talia- 
ferro,"  said  Don  Jose,  with  pleasure  in  the 
phrase,  "lies  within  the  direct  power  of  my 
brother.  No  one  knows  or  cares  about  him. 
General  Medina  is  different.  His  trial  for  a  cap 
ital  offence  has  been  set,  and  he  must  be  par 
doned,  if  at  all,  by  Juarez  himself." 

"  Juarez  will  not  do  it !  "  cried  Felise.  "  How, 
then,  can  you  do  anything  for  him  ?  " 

"  I  will  see  the  judges  privately  to-night," 
said  Don  Jose,  significantly.  "  The  trial  begins 
to-morrow  morning." 

"  To-morrow  !  "  cried  Felise.  "  I  didn't  know 
that ! "  It  had  been  expected  long,  but  it 
shocked  her.  "  Can  you  influence  those  judges  ?  " 
she  demanded. 

"  I  can." 

«  Will  you  ?  " 

«I  will  — if." 

"  The  same  old  <  if ' !  I  thought  you  had 
risen  above  bargaining  !  " 

"  Did  I  bargain  for  Taliaferro  ?  " 

"  No.  And  thereby  rose  in  my  esteem.  Why 
bargain  now  ?  " 


426  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

"Because  by  not  bargaining  I  gained  nothing. 
I  have  been  watching  you.  You  have  been  on 
trial  since  I  handed  you  that  letter.  In  it  I 
yielded  much  more  than  half.  Did  you  then 
yield  anything  ?  Look  at  it,  Felise  !  Yesterday 
I  promised  you  the  salvation  of  two  men  —  if ! 
Your  pretext  for  refusal  was  fear  lest  I  break 
faith.  Of  those  two  I  hated  one.  I  would 
indeed  have  been  tempted  to  break  faith  con 
cerning  him.  But  to-day,  the  day  I  gave  you 
for  your  final  answer,  I  come  to  you  with  that 
man's  deliverance.  I  lay  it  in  your  hands.  It 
is  yours  without  conditions  —  the  salvation  of 
the  man  I  hate.  Now  what  have  you  to  say  ? 
Do  you  pretend  to  fear,  if  you  marry  me  to-night 
there  in  San  Augustin,  that  to-morrow  I  will  not 
do  all  I  can  to  save  your  father.  You  cannot 
fear  it.  I  can  and  will  save  him.  What  have 
you  to  say  ?  " 

Felise  turned  dizzily  to  a  bench.  "  I  don't 
seem  —  I  don't  feel  well,"  she  said.  "  Surely 
there  is  some  answer,"  thought  she,  but  could 
not  find  it,  and  was  afraid  of  fainting.  « It 
has  come  ! "  she  thought.  It  seemed  to  her 
then  that  she  had  always  known  it  would 
come. 

"  Well,  Felise  ?  "  Don  Jose's  voice  was  tender, 
but  she  hated  it.  It  brought  her  mind  ruth 
lessly  to  that  one  outlet  in  the  stone  wall  built 
round  her  —  the  outlet  which  she  must  take  — 
which  led  her  helplessly  to  him. 


THE   TRIUMPH   OF   DON   JOSE  427 

"You  make  it  so  hard  for  me,"  complained 
she. 

Triumph  was  in  his  eyes.  The  words  of  her 
yielding  were  voluptuous  to  him,  and  stirred  his 
sense  like  wine. 


VII 

THE    DEATH    SENTENCE 

FROM  the  window  above  the  street,  Roderick 
looked  down  and  saw  his  life  at  crisis  —  Felise 
passing  with  De  Castro,  Fernand  passing  beyond 
deserts.  Fernand's  eyes  turned  to  the  window 
in  a  mute  farewell !  Roderick  ran  down  to  the 
closed  street-door,  intending  to  rush  out  and  say, 
"  I  am  Taliaferro  —  release  this  man  !  " 

His  hand  was  on  the  bolt.  One  push,  and  the 
thing  was  done.  But  irretrievably  done  !  With 
that  one  push,  farewell  the  hope  of  freeing 
Medina,  of  saving  Felise  from  her  fate ! 

Among  the  field-officers,  setting  out  for  Piedras 
Negras,  Lieutenant  Sarnette  marched  on. 

From  Roderick's  bitter  inward  strife  behind 
the  door  the  fall  of  its  knocker  roused  him. 

"Well,  then,"  thought  he,  "let  Fate  decide !" 

The  concierge  opened  the  vasista.  Roderick 
heard  Don  Jose"  insisting  that  he  would  enter 
then. 

"  Not  now,"  begged  Felise  ;  "  this  afternoon." 

"  Am  I  to  be  packed  off  the  very  moment  we 
are  betrothed  ?  "  demanded  Don  Jos6. 

428 


THE   DEATH   SENTENCE  429 

The  word  thundered  in  Roderick's  ears.  «  Be 
trothed  ! "  In  vain  the  sacrifice  of  Sarnette,  in 
vain  his  own  winning  of  Padre  Geronimo  —  life 
was  in  vain  !  "  Betrothed  !  "  Her  life  was  in 
ruins  !  Why  not  kill  him  here  and  end  all  so  ? 

The  door  swung  inward.  Felise  entered  — 
saw  Roderick  —  gave  a  cry  of  terror. 

"  Go  back  !  "  she  cried,  turning  fiercely  upon 
De  Castro. 

He  stopped,  astonished,  Taliaferro  being  hid 
by  the  half-open  door.  The  thick  slab  of  iron- 
studded  oak  swung  on  its  hinge  and  slammed  as 
though  it  had  been  light  pine.  De  Castro  was 
thrown  back  to  the  curb.  Taliaferro  shot  bolt 
into  hasp,  shut  the  vasista,  dropped  hook  into 
staple  —  none  too  soon,  for  Don  Jose  threw  him 
self  against  it,  furious. 

« Spanish  architecture  has  advantages ! " 
mused  the  colonel. 

But  iron-studded  doors  can  be  battered  down, 
and  it  was  but  a  moment's  respite.  Felise  and 
Roderick  looked  at  each  other. 

"  He  will  come  in  now  if  it  takes  a  regiment," 
whispered  she.  "  Get  away  instantly.  Let  me 
talk  to  him  through  the  vasista." 

« I'll  kill  him  if  he  comes  in,"  said  Talia 
ferro. 

"  You  would  kill  my  father  too  !  Let  me  talk 
to  him  instantly  or  we  are  lost !  " 

"  Are  you  and  he  betrothed  ?  " 

"  Yes,  yes,  though  this  may  end  it.     Let  me 


430  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

talk  !  "  She  tried  to  push  him  toward  the  room 
of  the  concierge. 

"  End  it !  "  he  exclaimed.  "  You  must  end  it ! 
Listen  !  /  will  get  your  father  from  the  Casino. 
I  swear  it !  Break  off  with  De  Castro  ! " 

"  Are  you  sure,  Roderick,  are  you  sure  ?  " 

"  On  my  honor,  yes  !  " 

After  angry  blows  there  was  an  ominous 
silence. 

"  Go  in,  go  in  ! "  exclaimed  Felise.  "  What 
ever  comes  later,  another  instant's  delay  is  fatal 
now ! " 

Roderick  stepped  aside. 

« Open  the  window,"  said  Felise  to  the  con 
cierge. 

The  block  of  wood  swung  back,  revealing  no 
Don  Jose.  His  absence  was  more  terrifying  than 
his  presence.  She  fancied  the  tramp  of  soldiers 
coming  to  break  in.  The  opening  of  the  window, 
however,  brought  De  Castro  back.  He  came 
without  a  word,  but  his  silence  was  unfit  for 
publication. 

"  I  have  decided  that  I  was  rude,  Don  Jose," 
said  Felise,  blandly,  "  but  you  must  remember  I 
told  you  not  to  come  in." 

"  I  will  batter  down  this  door ! "  growled  he. 

"  That  will  make  an  amusing  story  for  the 
cafes,"  said  she.  "  Already  your  fellow-officers 
are  interested,"  she  added,  nodding  toward  two 
lieutenants  on  the  opposite  sidewalk.  The  gen 
eral  glared  at  them,  and  they  went  on. 


THE  DEATH   SENTENCE  431 

"To-morrow  you  will  bitterly  regret  this  in 
sult  !  "  exclaimed  he. 

She  understood  the  threat  against  her  father, 
but  thought  of  Taliaferro's  promise.  "Let  me 
repeat  my  invitation  for  this  afternoon,  Don 
Jose,"  said  she.  "  Come  then,  if  you  will." 

"  I  come  now,  or  not  at  all ! "  cried  he. 

She  tripped  indolently  across  the  patio,  and  up 
the  stairs.  From  the  upper  window  she  saw 
De  Castro  depart. 

She  could  not  realize  all  that  had  happened  — 
the  letter,  the  passing  prisoners,  the  words  of 
consent  wrung  from  her,  the  reaction  of  regret, 
the  sight  of  Taliaferro,  the  slamming  door ! 

She  was  dominated  by  the  mere  physical  joy 
of  escaping  that  kiss  which  was  burning  on  De 
Castro's  lips.  Behind  all  thoughts,  beneath  all 
terrors,  she  felt  that  joy  when  the  glorious  big 
door  swung  shut.  She  had  been  educating 
her  heart  away  from  Roderick,  but  in  that  cru 
cial  moment  she  forgot  her  labored  lessons,  and 
her  cry  was  as  that  of  some  wild  desert  mother 
springing  to  defend  her  young. 

Her  hope  turned  to  Roderick.  Desperate  hope, 
perhaps,  and  yet  it  was  in  him,  not  in  the  other 
—  even  if  it  led  to  death,  it  was  in  him  ! 

She  heard  his  quick  step  on  the  stairs.  Some 
thing  made  a  glamour  of  the  world. 

The  closing  door  which  shut  out  loathing,  the 
coming  step  which  brought  in  love  —  the  very 
poles  of  life  —  from  depth  to  height!  A  mo- 


432  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

ment  before,  out  there  with  Don  Jose,  she  had 
raised  between  herself  and  this  one  coming  a 
barrier  which  seemed  eternal.  Fate  had  torn  it 
down. 

Her  heartstrings  were  a  lute  —  Love  played. 

He  entered  with  words  upon  his  lips,  but 
looked  at  her  and  did  not  say  them.  "  What 
does  it  mean,  Felise  ?  "  he  asked,  his  voice  low, 
his  eyes  lost  in  the  shining  of  hers. 

"  This  !  "  said  she. 

Never  dreaming  that  Taliaferro,  and  not  the 
concierge,  had  slammed  the  door,  De  Castro  did 
not  come  back.  His  revenge  was  bitterer  than 
mere  forcible  entrance  of  that  house. 

Felise  went  in  the  morning  with  Padre  Ge- 
ronimo  to  the  Casino  where  her  father's  trial 
began.  She  was  not  allowed  to  go  to  his  cell. 
The  court-martial  assembled  behind  closed 
doors.  The  Minister  Dorr  Garcia  Aguirre  was 
led  in  first  and  remained  over  an  hour.  When 
he  came  out,  Felise  pressed  near  the  stairs.  The 
next  prisoner  was  her  father's  friend,  General 
Castillo.  He  greeted  her  as  he  passed,  and  went 
in  before  the  judges,  who  sat  around  a  long 
table.  The  girl  waited  through  another  endless 
hour. 

"  At  this  rate  they'll  never  finish  the  nineteen 
to-day,"  remarked  an  officer  near  Felise. 

"  This  is  pretty  dry,"  observed  another. 

"  It  isn't  so  dry  at  the  Red  Eagle,"  said  a  third. 


THE   DEATH    SENTENCE  433 

"  Torrefies  will  be  up  there  to  lunch,"  said  the 
first.  «  He  will  tell  us  the  news." 

"  Let  us  march !  "  said  two  at  once. 

They  clanked  off  to  the  tavern. 

The  doors  of  the  judgment  chamber  opened, 
and  Castillo,  weary  eyed,  was  led  out  and  up  the 
stairs.  His  footsteps  receded,  a  door  opened  and 
closed,  then  another.  Footsteps  came  nearer. 

At  the  head  of  the  stairs,  among  escorting  sol 
diers,  appeared  General  Medina.  A  sergeant  lent 
him  the  support  of  his  arm.  His  ruddiness  was 
gone,  the  lustre  had  left  his  eyes,  his  shoulders 
stooped.  Years  that  had  passed  him  lightly  over, 
leaving  no  sign,  had  come  upon  him. 

A  cry  of  pity  broke  from  his  daughter's  throat, 
and  she  flew  up  the  stairs  to  him.  Her  arms 
were  round  him  for  an  instant,  and  then  she  was 
torn  away  by  a  tawny  sentry  she  had  passed  with 
out  permission.  The  violence  made  her  scream. 
The  weight  of  years  was  miraculously  lifted  from 
the  limbs  of  Don  Miguel.  His  eyes  blazed.  Be 
fore  any  one  else  could  act,  he  clutched  the  throat 
of  the  soldier,  who  loosed  Felise  and  dropped  his 
rifle,  then  tore  free,  snatched  up  his  weapon,  and 
would  have  bayoneted  his  assailant,  had  not  an 
officer's  sword  struck  down  his  weapon,  and  the 
officer's  shout  rung  in  his  ears:  "You  dog!  Is 
that  the  way  a  soldier  of  the  Republic  treats  a 
lady ! " 

Trembling  with  stupid  anger,  the  man  came  to 
attention. 

2F 


434  RODERICK  TALIAFERRO 

"  Forgive  the  brute,  sefiorita,"  said  the  officer. 
"  He  knew  no  better  ;  he  thought  he  was  obeying 
orders." 

The  whole  thought  of  Felise  was  upon  her 
father.  After  that  flash  of  old-time  vigor  the 
years  came  down  again.  His  daughter's  arms 
were  like  a  mother's  supporting  the  steps  of  her 
child.  In  her  heart  rose  unknown  maternal  ten 
derness  for  him  she  had  feared  and  honored. 

"  Take  heart !  "  she  whispered.  "  There  is 
a  plan  to  save  you,  even  if  the  court  con 
demns  ! " 

"  Felise,  little  Felise,"  he  murmured,  patting 
her  shoulder.  "You  must  not  worry  so.  I'm 
old  enough  to  die." 

"  Pardon,  senorita,"  said  the  officer.  "  I  really 
cannot  let  you  talk  to  him." 

He  was  led  before  the  court. 

Before  he  came  out,  Felise  was  ordered  to  leave 
the  building.  She  waited  outside,  Padre  Gero- 
nimo  remaining  to  bring  her  news.  He  came  out 
at  noon,  saying  there  was  none  yet,  and  made 
Felise  go  home  with  him.  In  the  afternoon  he 
went  back,  and  sent  word  that  the  nineteen  were 
being  examined  rapidly.  The  law  of  January 
25th  was  easy  to  apply.  The  court  was  work 
ing  with  the  precision  of  a  guillotine.  By  six, 
a  cabinet  minister,  eleven  brigadiers,  and  the 
Emperor's  private  secretary  had  been  tried. 

At  eight,  Padre  Geronimo  had  not  returned, 
and  Felise  sent  Felipe  to  find  him  and  his  news. 


THE  DEATH   SENTENCE  435 

The  court  was  still  sitting.  The  padre  said  he 
would  wait  until  the  end. 

To  Felise  Roderick  minimized  the  importance 
of  the  trial.  They  might  indeed  sentence  Don 
Miguel,  he  said,  but  after  to-morrow  night  they 
would  not  find  him  in  the  Casino.  His  confi 
dence  reassured  her,  though  he  refused  to  give 
her  the  slightest  hint  of  his  plan.  Unknown  to 
her  there  burned  in  his  heart,  too,  the  most  ardent 
desire  for  that  acquittal. 

Felipe  came  with  the  rumor  that  sixteen  of 
the  nineteen  prisoners  had  been  sentenced,  not  to 
death,  but  to  ten  years'  imprisonment.  Hope 
flamed  high.  Then  Roderick  remembered  that 
Aguirre,  Castillo,  and  Medina,  who  were  of  high 
est  rank,  had  had  far  the  longest  examination. 

The  Princess  Salm  came  restlessly  in  and  out. 
She,  at  least,  could  take  heart  at  the  message,  for 
if  only  three  were  given  the  extreme  penalty,  the 
prince  would  not  be  among  them. 

Bugles  blew  and  barrack  lights  went  out. 
Moment  by  moment  the  silence  of  night  was 
deepening  upon  Quer6taro  when  Roderick  and 
Felise  heard  the  jarring  close  of  the  street-door, 
and  knew  the  padre  had  come.  They  did  not 
go  down  to  meet  him.  After  all  their  anxiety 
to  know. the  truth,  they  shrank  from  it  when  it 
came.  The  padre  crossed  the  patio,  ascended 
the  stairs,  and  came  along  the  gallery.  His  steps 
were  slow  —  too  slow,  and  yet  not  slow  enough. 
He  came  in.  They  stood  facing  him. 


436  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

"  It  is  as  we  expected,"  said  he. 

There  was  a  moment  of  silent  realization. 

"  We  certainly  looked  for  nothing  else,"  said 
Roderick. 

Felise  looked  to  him,  expectant  of  instant 
action. 

"  Felipe  must  be  ready  with  the  horses  to 
morrow  night  at  eight,"  said  he. 


VIII 

THE    TRIUMPH    OF    LOVE 

THE  day  after  the  trial  Roderick  banished,  as 
far  as  he  could,  the  anxiety  of  Felise.  To  him 
self  he  said,  «  To-day  she  shall  be  happy  and  love 
me,  for  to-morrow  I  die."  To  her  he  said, 
"Why  waste  this  day  in  worry,  when  to-night 
your  father  goes  free  ?  " 

"  But  how,  Don  Roderick  —  that  is  what  wor 
ries  me  —  how  will  you  do  it?  Tell  me,  so  I 
too  may  believe." 

"  Oh  thou  of  little  faith  !  "  he  answered  lightly, 
but  she  was  bent  on  knowing,  and  he  needed  all 
his  wits.  She  teased,  he  laughed ;  she  grew 
angry,  he  indifferent ;  she  wept,  he  consoled. 
But  he  did  not  tell. 

"  Then  no  more  kisses,"  threatened  she. 

"  Very  well,"  said  he. 

In  a  moment  she  kissed  him.  "Now  won't 
you  tell  ?  "  she  whispered,  seeing  him  thrill,  and 
thinking  it  meant  triumph. 

"Thy  blush  is  more  beautiful  than  sunset," 
replied  he,  in  fervent,  but  irrelevant  Spanish, 
"  and  thy  lips  have  robbed  the  rose  ! " 

437 


438  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

"  They  haven't  robbed  yours  of  their  secret," 
complained  they. 

"  No,  sweet  thieves,  ye  have  stolen  only  my 
heart  and  soul  and  —  life  !  "  For  a  moment  he 
was  filled  with  intolerable  regret  for  what  must 
be.  She  did  not  guess  the  literal  truth  of  his 
word,  taking  it  as  of  the  exaggerated,  beautiful 
dialect  of  love.  He  did  play  the  lover  that 
day  —  grave  and  gay,  ardent  and  tender.  In 
tense,  eager,  sincere,  draining  the  last  of  his  life's 
cup,  averting  his  eyes  from  the  shadow  of  death, 
he  swept  the  chords  of  her  heart  as  though  striv 
ing  to  carry  into  his  grave  the  memory  of  its 
immortal  music. 

It  was  Hilario's  old  dream  of  Love  and  Death 
—  Love  so  precious  and  so  sweet  that  only  Death 
could  buy  it  —  sweeter  being  so  brief,  more  pre 
cious,  because  so  bought.  It  was  Hilario's  ideal, 
come  not  to  Hilario,  but,  as  though  Fate  had 
addressed  it  wrong,  to  Taliaferro.  While  « the 
artist  whose  art  was  love  "  was  safe  in  the  prose 
of  matrimony,  Roderick  was  unwillingly  acting 
the  very  masterpiece  of  Hilario's  art,  and  realiz 
ing  the  dreamer's  vision  of  Love  glorified  before 
the  immediate  background  of  eternal  night.  It 
was  his  day  of  days  —  a  miracle  —  a  flower 
plucked  dewy  and  unwithered  in  the  midst  of 
flame. 

Felise  did  not  understand,  but  saw  the  sacrifi 
cial  beauty  in  her  lover's  soul,  and  to  it  hers 
responded.  The  tears  in  his  heart  only  made 


THE  TRIUMPH   OF  LOVE  439 

his  smile  sweeter,  and,  thrilled  by  his  tenderness, 
her  heart  unfolded  all  its  hidden  depths. 

The  princess  brought  Colonel  Villanueva  in 
to  lunch,  and  Taliaferro  remained  in  his  room. 
When  he  rejoined  Felise,  the  spell  of  the  morn 
ing  was  broken.  The  council  of  war  had  been 
appointed  to  try  the  Emperor.  The  advocates 
Palacio  and  De  la  Torre  telegraphed  that  all 
their  efforts  for  delay  had  been  in  vain.  De  la 
Torre  gave  the  opinion  that  all  the  sentences  of 
death  would  be  carried  out. 

The  princess  asked  Felise  what  she  was  doing 
for  her  father,  and  with  shame  the  girl  was 
unable  to  reply.  The  princess  was  negotiating 
with  the  Emperor's  jailers. 

"  But  I,"  stormed  Felise,  "  I  do  nothing.  J  sit 
inert,  inactive,  dreaming  a  dream,  when  my  own 
father  is  condemned  to  death,  and  has  no  hope 
of  pardon  !  I  will  know  what  you  mean  to  do. 
You  must  tell  !  " 

"  Must  we  go  through  all  that  again,  Felise  ?  " 
said  Roderick.  «I  cannot  —  I  will  not  tell. 
My  plan  is  simple  and  sure.  I  think  it  will 
succeed.  My  life  is  staked  on  it.  I  can  say  no 
more." 

"  You  think  !  "  she  exclaimed.  «  The  day  Don 
Jose"  was  at  the  door  you  were  sure  !  Oh,  what 
a  sin  and  shame  it  would  be  if  now  you  should 
not  save  him  !  Unless  you  do,  Don  Roderick  —  " 

He  stood  awaiting  the  fatal  word  despair  had 
formed  in  her  mind.  It  did  not  reach  her  lips. 


440  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

"  Though  you  should  murder  him,  I  could  not 
hate  you  !  "  she  exclaimed. 

"  Your  fear  speaks  bitter  words,"  said  he. 
"  Remember,  love,  for  whom  I  am  ready  and 
glad  to  lay  life  down,  that  the  question  is  not 
whether  I  will  save  him,  but  merely  whether  I 
will  tell  you  how.  Is  that  worth  words  like 
yours  ?  " 

She  said  no,  but  her  words  rang  in  his 
brain  and  armored  his  resolution  in  triple 
bronze. 

Felise  went  in  the  afternoon  to  see  her  father. 
It  was  not  permitted,  but  she  felt  better  having 
done  something,  and  her  visit  did  a  little  good, 
for  he  heard  of  it. 

On  her  return,  she  sent  Felipe  to  Taliaferro 
for  his  instructions.  Three  horses  were  ready 
in  the  stable,  and  a  donkey-boy  had  been  secured 
as  guide.  Taliaferro  swore  Felipe  to  secrecy, 
and  made  him  describe  the  thicket  east  of  San 
Sebastian  where  the  horses  were  to  be  held. 

"Very  well,"  said  Roderick,  "and  how  will 
you  go  thither  from  the  Casino?" 

"  Two  squares  east,  one  north.  Into  a  garden 
on  the  right.  Through  it  to  a  gate  on  the  bank 
of  Rio  Blanco.  Through  the  river,  not  by  the 
bridge,  which  is  guarded,  and  so  to  the  thicket." 

"  And  after  you  reach  the  horses  ?  " 

"  Thence  northeast  on  a  foot-path  to  the  hills, 
avoiding  Patehe.  After  that,  northwest  on  side 
trails  chosen  by  the  guide." 


THE  TRIUMPH   OF  LOVE  441 

"Correct.  Now  listen,  Felipe.  The  guide 
must  not  go  into  any  tavern  or  speak  to  any  one 
in  San  Sebastian.  He  must  wait,  hidden  with 
the  horses,  and  answer  only  your  whistle.  He 
starts  from  here  at  seven-thirty.  You  are  to  be 
across  the  street  from  the  south  entrance  of  the 
Casino  at  five  minutes  past  eight,  not  before  or 
after.  A  priest  will  come  out  of  the  Casino. 
This  priest  will  be  your  master,  Don  Miguel. 
Go  with  him  without  haste  or  delay  to  the  horses 
and  away.  Lose  no  time  after  you  are  clear  of 
Queretaro.  You  are  to  join  General  Olvera  in 
the  Sierra  Gordo.  Understood?" 

"  Yes,  sefior." 

"  Repeat  it." 

Felipe  repeated  it  with  the  accurate  memory 
of  the  unlettered.  Soon  after  Taliaferro  dis 
missed  him  he  repeated  it  to  some  one  else. 

Taliaferro  planned  everything  to  the  minute. 
He  must  arrive  at  the  Casino  at  eight,  leave  San 
Augustin  five  minutes  earlier,  be  dressed  at 
seven-forty  —  ten  minutes  after  the  departure  of 
the  guide.  He  and  Geronimo  would  dine  at 
seven  with  the  princess  and  Felise,  excusing 
themselves,  and  going  to  the  priest's  room. 
Before  seven  he  must  speak  to  Felise  the  last 
word  they  would  ever  speak  alone.  For  a  while 
he  could  not  find  her,  and  then  met  her  in  the 
corridor  from  the  stable. 

"The  time  is  short,"  he  said.  "Two  hours, 
and  it  will  be  done.  I  want  to  say  good-by,  in 


442  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

case  —  anything  should  happen."  They  turned 
together  into  the  patio. 

"  Tell  me  this  much,  Don  Roderick,"  said  she. 
"  Is  your  own  risk  great  ?  " 

"  That  leads  to  the  question  which  caused  the 
one  flaw  in  this  perfect  day.  Let  us  avoid  it  now." 

"  It  is  great,"  thought  she,  "  or  he  would  say 
it  was  small." 

"  Once,  long  ago,"  said  he,  "  —  do  you  remem 
ber  the  marshal's  ball  at  San  Cosm£  ?  —  I  asked 
you  to  give  me  the  passing  moment  as  though 
there  were  no  past,  no  future." 

"  I  remember,"  said  she. 

"  Do  it  now,  sweetheart." 

"That  was  after  your  sword  had  torn  my 
overskirt,"  said  she. 

"  When  the  marquesa  introduced  me  kneeling 
at  your  feet  —  Don  Jos6  meanwhile  looking 
daggers." 

"  Did  you  ever  guess  that  I  went  home  and 
kissed  the  tears  ?  "  asked  she. 

«  Did  you,  Felise  ?  Even  then  ?  What  ador 
able  child  ways  you  have  !  "  They  went  up  the 
jasper  stairs. 

"  Roderick." 

" Yes,  Felise."  The  omission  of  the  "  Don  " 
was  a  luxury  that  never  lost  its  charm. 

"  Do  you  think  that  after  you  have  freed  my 
father  he  will  still  —  forbid  ?  " 

"You  know  better  than  I.   What  do  you  think?" 

"  I  think  that  if  you  were  baptized,  there'd 
be  —  " 


THE   TRIUMPH   OF   LOVE  443 

«  What  ?  " 

"  A  wedding." 

"  How  maddening  sweet  she  is  !  "  groaned  he, 
in  his  soul. 

"  You  are  silent,"  she  said.  "  Would  you  not 
be  baptized  —  for  that  ?  " 

"  Let  us  not  begin  on  religion,"  said  he,  enter 
ing  the  twilight  reception  room. 

"No,"  she  assented,  "but  would  you  verily 
refuse  ?  " 

"  We  could  not  found  true  marriage  on  a  lie, 
dear  love.  My  baptism  would  be  a  lie.  We 
could  live  well  only  by  remaining  sincere  —  both 
of  us,  and  true  to  our  own  best.  Felise,  Felise ! 
Thou  art  Woman  to  me,  thou  art  Life  !  " 

"  Are  you  going  to  your  death  ? "  asked  she. 
"  Have  you  no  hope  of  success  ?  Do  not  let  me 
lose  both  him  and  you  !  " 

"  Success  is  almost  sure,"  said  he. 

"  Then  why  do  you  look  —  why  do  you  clasp 
me  —  as  though  for  the  last  time  in  this  world  ?  " 

"  I  love  thee,  I  love  thee  !  "  Passion  and  de 
spair  were  in  his  kiss. 

She  gave  up  trying  to  find  out  from  him.  Al 
ready  she  knew  more  than  he  thought,  having 
learned  from  Felipe  that  her  father  would  come 
forth  as  a  priest.  From  Roderick's  evasion,  she 
knew  his  peril  would  be  great.  When  they  parted 
before  supper,  she  had  not  guessed  all,  but  was 
groping  near. 

Baron  Magnus,  the  Prussian  minister,  was  at 


444  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

supper.  In  his  pocket  were  two  documents, 
which,  falling  into  Liberal  hands,  might  cost  his 
own  and  other  lives.  They  were  two  one-hun 
dred-thousand-peso  checks,  one  in  favor  of  the 
Colonel-general  of  engineers,  Don  Ricardo  Vil- 
lanueva,  the  other  of  Colonel  Don  Miguel  Pala- 
cios.  They  were  payable  by  the  Imperial  family 
at  Vienna.  Baron  Magnus  had  just  indorsed 
them.  The  colonels  required  two  other  names, 
Baron  Lago's,  Austrian  charg6  d'affaires,  and 
Maximilian's.  Baron  Magnus  and  the  princess 
were  planning  to  secure  them. 

By  some  subtle  process,  Felise  became  con 
vinced  at  supper  that  Padre  Geronimo  was  a 
party  to  Taliaferro's  design.  The  first  suspicion 
came,  she  knew  not  how,  while  the  two  were 
talking  of  things  indifferent.  Having  arrived, 
the  idea  was  quickly  reenforced  by  the  parrot 
words  of  Felipe  —  "This  priest  will  be  your 
master,  Don  Miguel."  In  a  flash  Felise  was  sure 
her  father  would  come  out  in  the  habit  of  Gero 
nimo.  But  she  could  not  take  the  final  step  — 
how  the  priest's  robe  would  reach  the  prisoner's 
cell. 

Excusing  himself,  Taliaferro  went  out  with 
the  air  of  a  man  who  expected  to  see  them  all 
again  in  half  an  hour.  The  princess  would  have 
noticed  nothing,  had  she  not  looked  at  Felise. 
She  promptly  turned  a  rapid  fire  of  talk  upon 
the  baron.  Then  Padre  Geronimo  said  he  must 
go.  The  padre  was  a  miserable  actor.  Felise 


THE   TRIUMPH   OF   LOVE  445 

sat  as  in  a  dream,  not  even  pretending  to  eat  or 
follow  the  baron's  conversation. 

Having  bade  her  good-by,  Roderick  was  count 
ing  upon  her  remaining  with  Magnus  and  the 
princess.  She  rose  and  left  them  without  a  word. 
To  her,  at  that  moment,  they  did  not  exist.  Per 
haps  she  could  not  have  spoken.  She  went  out 
upon  the  covered  gallery.  Her  eyes  grew  used 
to  the  light  reflected  down  from  the  moonlit  sky. 
She  entered  the  unlighted  corridor  to  Roderick's 
room,  went  to  his  door,  and  knocked.  No  an 
swer,  no  light,  no  sound  ! 

"  He  is  gone  !  "  she  thought. 

She  stood,  trying  to  think  things  out,  but  her 
thoughts  whirled.  What  could  that  peril  be  ? 
She  heard  the  horses  come  from  the  stable  upon 
the  marble  pavement  of  the  patio. 

"  The  guide ! "  she  thought,  and  ran  back  through 
the  corridor  with  the  blind  impulse  to  stop  this 
fellow  and  ask  him  —  what  he  did  not  know ! 
Realization  of  that  checked  her  at  the  head  of 
the  stairs.  Looking  down  from  the  balustrade, 
she  saw  the  three  horses  go  under  the  lighted 
archway  to  the  street.  Within  the  hour  her 
father  would  sit  one  of  those  saddles. 

Her  imagination  tried  to  follow  Roderick  to 
the  Casino,  to  the  cell  of  her  father.  She  thought 
of  its  guarded  door,  of  the  sentinels  in  the  corri 
dor,  in  the  patio,  outside  the  window. 

«  If  he  had  only  told  me  !  "  she  thought.  "If 
he  had  not  left  it  all  so  vague  and  terrible ! " 


446  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

A  door  opened  quietly  in  the  corridor.  She 
thought  of  Padre  Geronimo,  whose  room  was  be 
yond  Roderick's.  She  was  sure  the  padre  could 
tell  her  all.  She  went  over  beside  the  vase  at 
the  head  of  the  stairs,  whence  she  could  see  down 
to  his  door.  It  was  open,  but,  even  as  she  looked, 
it  closed,  cutting  off  the  light.  Some  one  came 
silently  toward  the  stairway.  She  thought  it 
was  Geronimo. 

Emerging  from  the  corridor,  he  was  passing 
close,  not  seeing  her.  She  saw  the  black  cas 
sock,  the  broad-brimmed,  round-crowned  hat  of 
the  country  priest. 

"  Padre  !  "  said  she. 

The  padre  started,  but  did  not  halt  or  answer, 
or  lift  his  face.  The  absence  of  response  was 
uncanny  —  as  though  she  had  spoken  to  a  ghost ! 
Peering,  she  saw  it  was  not  Geronimo ! 

"  Who  are  you  ?  "  she  cried. 

The  priest  made  a  quick  movement  command 
ing  silence,  and  that  gesture,  characteristic  as  the 
voice  itself,  revealed  —  Roderick  ! 

"  You  ! "  she  exclaimed,  taking  an  unsteady  step 
toward  him.  He  did  not  wear  his  glasses ;  his 
shaven  upper  lip  was  a  trifle  low,  a  defect  his 
mustache  had  concealed. 

"  Command  yourself,  Felise  !  "  he  whispered, 
catching  her.  « Some  servant  may  be  a  spy. 
I  cannot  stop.  Command  yourself  !  " 

"  What  do  you  mean  to  do  ?  "  she  demanded. 
Her  fingers  clutched  him,  her  eyes  were  wide. 


THE   TRIUMPH   OF   LOVE  447 

He  gave  an  exclamation  of  impatience. 

"Thou  goest  in  as  a  priest,"  said  she,  reading 
his  soul.  "  My  father  will  go  forth  as  a  priest. 
And  thou  —  how  goest  thou  forth  ?  " 

"  Who  told  thee  this  ?  "  said  he,  in  vain  eva 
sion. 

"  How  goest  thou  forth  ?  "  insisted  she.  Her 
voice  was  controlled,  but  in  it  he  heard  passion 
which  he  felt  would  beat  through  parries  to  the 
truth.  His  heart  bled  for  her,  but  he  dared  not 
soften. 

"  There  is  no  time  to  lose,"  said  he,  moving  to 

go- 

She  barred  his  way,  not  so  much  with  the 
delicate,  ineffectual  strength  of  her  body,  as  with 
the  fierce  strength  of  her  soul. 

"  You  shall  not  go  !  "  she  said. 

"  What  a  sin  and  shame  if  now  I  do  not  save 
him  !  "  exclaimed  he,  in  her  own  words. 

"  Was  this  your  plan  ?  "  demanded  she. 

"It  is  my  plan,"  said  he. 

«  Would  you  have  done  this  thing  to  me  ?  " 

"  I  do  it,  saving  you  from  a  thing  which  was 
worse." 

"  You  go  to  die  in  my  father's  stead  ! " 

"  That  is  but  your  surmise." 

"  We  will  have  truth  between  us  now,"  com 
manded  she.  And  then,  as  though  that  hammer 
ing  of  flint  on  steel  had  melted  her,  she  cried, 
«  Oh,  Roderick,  you  bring  me  greater  grief  and 
pain  than  ever  Don  Jose" ! " 


448  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

"  Felise,"  said  he,  "  if  it  be  that  I  must  die  in 
this  business  —  and  there  is  a  chance  that  I  shall 
not  —  it  will  be  to  save  you  from  him.  What 
ever  comes,  have  none  of  him  !  It  is  not  certain, 
your  father  having  escaped,  that  they  will  shoot 
me  in  his  stead.  If  they  do,  it  will  be  glorious 
and  happy  death  for  me.  I  should  have  lived  to 
see  you  De  Castro's  wife.  Nothing  that  can 
come  of  this  will  be  as  bad  for  you  or  for  me  as 
that.  I  am  going  —  be  brave  !  " 

"  I  will  not  let  you  ! " 

"  You  must." 

"  I  will  not !  " 

"  Felise  !  On  one  hand  is  risk  of  death,  on  the 
other  dishonor.  Which  shall  I  choose  ?  " 

"  It  is  not  dishonor.  I  release  you  from  the 
promise  which  would  make  it  dishonor." 

"  You  cannot  release  me.  Would  you  leave 
your  father  to  die,  Felise  ?  " 

"  We  will  find  some  other  way." 

"  Do  you  think  I  would  have  chosen  this  had 
there  been  others  ?  Would  you  have  married 
Don  Jose"  had  there  been  others  ?  No  false  hope  ! 
I  go,  or  he  dies.  I  have  sworn  he  shall  not 
die  !  Oh  !  "  he  exclaimed,  "  I  won't  argue  it ! 
Good-by  !  " 

He  kissed  her,  tore  away,  and  started  down 
the  stairs.  She  fainted,  and  would  have  fallen 
on  the  marble  steps,  had  he  not  heard  her  gasp 
and  caught  her. 

In  his  disguise  he  dared  not  call  for  help,  or 


THE   TRIUMPH  ,OF   LOVE  449 

bear  her  to  it,  or  leave  her  to  seek  it.  He  car 
ried  her  to  her  room,  where  a  Pisan  lamp  burned 
dimly  by  a  shrine.  He  worked  to  revive  her. 
The  pallor  and  pathos  of  her  face  conquered  him 
as  her  strong  will  had  not  —  it  held  him  as  with 
chains.  Her  heavy  eyelids  beat  and  opened. 
Consciousness  relit  her  eyes,  she  saw  him.  She 
put  her  arms  about  him  as  a  waking  child  seeks 
refuge  from  the  terrors  of  a  dream. 

"  Thank  God  you  are  not  gone  !  "  she  said.  "  I 
thought  we  were  on  the  stairs." 

"  I  will  tell  the  padre  to  send  Pepita,"  he  said, 
trying  to  rise. 

"  No,  no,  no !  You  shall  not  go !  You  will 
never  come  back  !  " 

Something  had  weakened  the  man,  so  that,  as 
he  knelt  above  her,  her  fear-begotten  strength 
drew  him  and  held  him.  Sex  wove  its  spell,  and 
for  a  moment  he  forgot  all  things  on  earth  save 
her.  He  heard  a  clock  strike  half-past  eight. 

"  This  weakness  is  unworthy  of  you,  Felise  !  " 
said  he,  trying  to  break  the  spell. 

"  My  weakness  is  stronger  than  your  strength  !  " 
said  she.  A  smile  of  triumph  lurked  in  her  lips. 

He  forced  her  arms  away  and  rose,  trying  to 
dispel  the  fragrant  mist  that  obscured  his  pur 
pose.  She  rose  and  put  her  hand  out  dizzily. 
It  was  cold  with  fear  of  his  going.  He  held  her. 
Body  and  soul  he  was  drawn,  as  steel  to  mag 
net,  tide  to  moon.  In  her  struggle  to  lure  and 
hold  him  back  from  death,  the  glory  and  beauty 

2o 


450  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

and  passion  of  woman  had  bloomed  in  her  like  a 
splendid  flower. 

"Some  one  may  come  and  find  me  in  your 
room,"  said  he. 

"  I  care  not,  so  you  stay !  " 

"  Sit  down,  Felise,  I  —  " 

"  I  will  not  faint  again,"  she  interrupted.  « If 
you  go  now,  I  follow." 

A  bugle  blew. 

"  The  call  to  quarters  at  the  Casino,"  said 
he. 

"  Is  it  too  late  to  go  ?  "  cried  she. 

"  Too  late,"  he  answered.  "  They  would  not 
let  me  in." 

"  Oh,  my  sweet  love,  you  are  saved ;  I  have 
saved  you !  "  rejoiced  she. 

"  And  your  father,  Felise  ?  Who  will  save 
him  ?  " 

"  Could  you  not  let  me  have  one  moment's 
joy  without  that  thought?" 

"  They  will  let  you  see  him  once  before  his 
execution,"  said  he,  mercilessly.  "  When  they 
tear  you  from  his  arms  and  he  goes  to  die,  you 
will  call  me  his  murderer !  " 

"  Don't,  don't !  How  can  you  be  so  cruel ! 
Oh,  why  did  you  not  let  me  marry  Don  Jose"  ?  " 

"  The  day  your  father  lies  shot  you  will  ask 
that  question  yet  more  bitterly." 

"  Why  do  you  torture  me  ?  I  cannot  bear 
it." 

"  For  this,  Felise.     Now,  hear  me."     He  made 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  LOVE  451 

her  sit  beside  him.  "To-morrow  night  I  am 
going  to  Don  Miguel.  I  paint  only  the  torture 
that  would  be  yours  unless  I  went.  You  will 
have  your  father  and  your  freedom.  Remember, 
as  things  are,  he  is  sure  of  death.  I,  taking  his 
place,  am  not.  I  may  simply  be  imprisoned 
for  procuring  his  escape.  I  would  spare  you 
the  pain  of  my  going  if  I  could,  but  I  cannot. 
You  must  be  brave  and  bear  it.  Remember,  I 
promised  to  free  Don  Miguel  to  save  you  from 
something  worse  than  death.  I  myself  preferred 
death.  I  chose  the  pleasanter  of  two  courses. 
Now  I  am  bound  in  honor.  The  past  fixes  that 
as  in  adamant.  Neither  you  nor  I  can  alter  it. 
A  miserable  thing  I  should  be  if  I  broke  my 
promise,  and  let  your  old  father  be  shot !  You 
yourself  would  despise  me.  I  could  not  look  at 
you.  I  could  not  endure  myself.  I  could  not 
live  !  I  am  wholly  truthful  with  you  now,  Felise. 
I  conceal  nothing.  It  is  possible  that  I  may  be 
shot.  If  so,  remember  that  I  have  no  tie  that 
binds  me  to  life  —  none  save  my  love  of  you. 
Life  would  have  parted  us.  That  would  have 
been  bitterer  than  death  to  me.  I  chose  my 
course  with  open  eyes.  I  regret  nothing  —  ex 
cept  that  this  did  not  come  to  you  as  news  and 
not  foreknowledge.  I  would  do  it  again  just 
so.  And  you,  dearest  Felise,  will  see  all  this 
clearly  and  calmly,  as  you  could  not  see  it  to 
night  in  this  first  anguish  of  farewell." 

His  voice  was   more   serene,  more  wise,  and 


452  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

good  than  Felise  had  ever  heard  it.  She  listened 
almost  humbly. 

"  He  thinks  only  of  me,"  thought  she,  "  though 
he  himself  is  face  to  face  with  death  ! "  She 
turned  her  head  that  he  might  not  see  the  tears. 
"  Shall  I,  in  turn,  not  think  of  him  ?  "  she  asked 
herself.  "  Oh,  what  can  I  do  to  repay  his  love, 
how  show  him  the  depth  of  mine  ! "  She  could 
not  speak  when  he  finished,  but  mutely  kissed 
his  hand,  as  she  had  done  when  he  lay  wounded 
in  Ixmiquilpan. 

She  gave  one  little  sob,  then  went  to  the  Ma 
donna's  shrine,  and  knelt.  At  first  her  shoulders 
shook,  but  prayer  calmed  her;  and  when  she 
turned  back  to  him  who  had  been  watching  and 
worshipping  her,  her  face  was  saintly  with  ac 
cepted  sorrow  —  like  the  Madonna's. 

"  Don  Roderick,"  she  said,  coming  to  him,  and 
kneeling  by  his  knees,  "  you  have  taught  me 
what  love  is ;  not  only  the  dear  lovingness  of 
lips  —  a  sin  so  tiny  and  so  sweet  God  will  not 
think  of  it  —  but  love  itself.  You  know  I  love 
my  father  dearly,  but  I  love  you  more.  You  did 
indeed  promise  me  to  save  him,  and  I,  not  know 
ing  your  purpose,  received  your  promise.  Now 
knowing,  I  release  you.  My  father  has  few 
years  to  live,  you  many  —  hear  me,  dear  !  This 
is  why  I  think  you  should  not  go,  but  you  shall 
decide,  not  I,  though  my  heart  break ! " 

"  Felise,  Felise,  how  good  you  are  !  "  breathed 
he,  with  glistening  eyes. 


THE   TRIUMPH   OF  LOVE  453 

Her  own  eyes  gazed  as  upon  something  far-off 
and  dim  ;  her  lips  moved,  but  he  could  not  hear. 

"  What  lovely  thought  is  in  your  mind  ? " 
asked  he. 

« I  can  hardly  tell  you  even  in  this  hour,"  she 
said. 

«  Sit  by  me,  Felise."  He  drew  her  close,  and 
waited,  but  still  her  eyes  were  on  the  far-off 
thing,  and  still  she  was  afraid  of  words. 
"  What  you  tell  me  now,"  he  said,  "  you  tell 
to  your  own  soul." 

"I  cling  to  the  hope  of  life,"  she  began,  "  —  of 
life  with  you.  But  I  was  thinking  —  even  if 
you  go  —  even  if  hope  prove  vain,  and  you  are  — 
not  alive,  and  I  am  alone  —  "  She  stopped. 

«  What  then,  Felise  ?  " 

"  It  sounds  too  different  when  I  say  it." 

"  Say  it  though,  love.  I  will  hear  not  how  it 
sounds,  but  what  it  is." 

"  I  shall  never  marry  any  one  else,"  said  she, 
though  that  was  not  what  she  was  trying  to  say. 

"  Don't  say  that,  dear !  The  future  is  the 
future's.  Let  it  be." 

"  It  is  no  new  thought,"  she  said.  «  When  I 
gave  up  hope  of  you  after  Puebla,  I  was  coming 
to  live  in  the  unhappy  convent,  Santa  Teresa, 
your  prison,  whence  now  the  poor  nuns  are 
driven  forth  homeless." 

«  Felise,"  he  protested,  «  you  are  meant  for  a 
man's  sweet  wife  —  the  mother  of  little  ones. 
Give  life  a  chance  !  " 


454  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

"  I  am  meant  to  be  your  wife,  Roderick." 
There  was  a  great,  soft  glory  in  her  eyes.  She 
was  leaving  lovely  things  unsaid ;  he  was  not 
guessing  half. 

«  But  in  the  future,"  he  began,  then  saw  words 
shining  in  her  eyes,  and  hushed  his  own. 

"  I  mean  now."  They  were  low  words  and 
slow,  from  lips  that  would  have  smiled  if  awe 
had  let  them.  Her  eyes  were  upon  his,  a  maiden 
shyness  in  them,  but  bravely  admitted  to  him 
the  lovely  fact  of  womanhood,  and  trusting  him 
to  look  upon  its  unveiled  sweetness  not  pro 
fanely. 

He  did  not  move,  or  speak,  or  draw  her  to 
him,  for  apart  from  its  rapturous  promise,  the 
look  of  the  girl's  eyes  giving  herself  to  him  was 
a  glorious  thing.  The  blood  ran  bridegroom  riot 
in  his  veins ;  pulse  pounded,  temples  throbbed, 
heart  sang.  But  disregarding  the  red  tumult,  his 
soul  sat  royal,  looking  at  the  beautiful  soul  of 
the  woman,  and  with  it  saying,  "  We  consent !  " 

"  Shall  we  be  married  now,  Felise  ?  "  asked  he. 

"  Yes,"  said  she.     "  That  is  what  I  mean." 

She  had  hidden  her  eyes  against  his  breast, 
but  he  saw  her  heart  —  her  desire  to  recompense 
sacrifice,  manifest  love  —  entering  not  marriage, 
but  widowhood,  with  one  dear  memory,  and  one 
beautiful,  heart-breaking  hope. 

Felipe's  priest  did  not  come  that  night  from 
the  Casino.  The  guide,  waiting  in  the  thicket, 


THE   TRIUMPH   OF   LOVE  455 

heard  no  whistle  call.  Instead  of  being  immured 
in  the  cell  of  Medina,  Taliaferro  appeared  in  the 
room  of  Padre  Geronimo,  demanding  instant 
marriage  with  Felise. 

He  met  with  difficulties.  There  was  no 
trouble  as  to  civil  authorities,  for  under  the  un- 
repealed  laws  of  the  Empire  they  had  nothing  to 
do  with  it.  Unfortunately  for  Taliaferro,  the 
padre  knew  he  was  a  heretic  without  dispensa 
tion  to  wed.  Taliaferro  had  thought  little  of 
this,  expecting,  if  ever  the  need  arose,  to  buy 
the  required  ceremony,  or  demand  it  with  the 
talismanic  words,  "  A  wedding  or  your  life." 
He  liked  Geronimo  too  well  for  that,  and  knew 
besides  that  the  man  could  not  be  driven  or 
drawn  from  duty.  The  padre  pointed  out  that 
there  was  only  one  solution  —  fortunately  easy. 
It  was  baptism. 

Roderick  declined,  dressed  quickly  in  civilian's 
clothes,  and  left  the  house.  He  returned,  told 
Felise  he  had  made  arrangements  with  the  cure* 
of  San  Augustin,  and  asked  if  she  was  ready. 

She  had  foreseen  his  difficulty,  and  hoped  he 
would  consent  to  the  ceremony  which  would 
have  meant  so  much  to  her.  "  How  can  the  cure" 
marry  us,  you  being  no  Catholic?"  she  asked. 

«  Since  he  consents  and  will  make  the  proper 
record,"  said  Taliaferro,  «  we  needn't  inquire  too 
closely  into  his  motives.  I  told  him  the  truth, 
and  he  says  the  rite  being  performed,  the  mar 
riage  will  be  good." 


456  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

The  motive  was  most  of  Taliaferro's  hard- 
earned  soldier's  pay  —  a  fee  so  large  that  the 
cure  took  chances  of  any  one  bothering  about 
omission  of  bans  or  the  groom's  religious  status. 
In  the  wreck  of  the  Empire  and  the  Clerical 
cause  the  higher  clergy  would  have  other  things 
to  think  of. 

Felise  was  disappointed  at  the  failure  of  her 
plot  to  save  Roderick's  soul.  It  was  part  of  her 
vision  that  if  death  parted,  eternal  life  would  at 
last  unite  her  and  her  husband,  he  being  baptized 
in  that  faith  which  alone  could  bring  salvation 
and  eternal  joy.  She  had  not  made  conversion 
a  condition,  nor  did  she,  but  went  to  the  altar 
in  the  hope  that,  before  he  left  her,  he  would 
through  love  of  her  embrace  her  faith.  Per 
haps  in  her  heart  of  hearts  she  hoped  marriage 
would  bind  him  to  her  so  strongly  that  he  would 
not  go  at  all.  That  he  would  both  go,  and, 
going,  die  unredeemed,  she  would  not  believe  — 
God  was  too  good ! 

The  princess  and  Baron  Magnus  went  with 
them  as  witnesses.  The  church  of  San  Augus- 
tin  was  dark,  save  for  the  little  space  before  the 
altar,  where  the  ceremony  was  performed.  It 
seemed  long  to  Roderick.  There  was  ringing 
of  a  little  bell  now,  and  a  little  bell  then,  kneel- 
ings  here,  kneelings  there,  crossings  at  one  place, 
genuflections  at  another,  certain  swings  of  the 
incensario,  and  some  sentences  of  which  only 
the  sound  seemed  to  be  important. 


THE   TRIUMPH   OF   LOVE  457 

It  seemed  strange  to  Roderick  that  a  third 
person  should  assume  the  function  of  making 
sacred  what  love,  creation's  instrument  and 
end,  had  made  as  sacred  as  life.  There  was 
the  woman,  body,  and  soul,  loving,  beautiful, 
meant  for  motherhood,  as  ten  million  years  of 
life  had  made  her !  And  yet  a  man  thought 
he  added  to  her  sanctity  by  ringing  a  bell  at  her. 

He  liked  the  giving  of  the  ring.  He,  and  no 
one  else,  placed  the  little  symbol  of  eternity  upon 
her  finger.  That  finger,  as,  slipping  on  the  ring, 
he  held  and  looked  at  it,  gave  his  mind  an  exqui 
site  shock.  It  seemed  as  though  he  had  never 
noticed,  or  rather  that  he  had  never  before  had 
power  to  realize,  how  beautiful  it  was.  It  was 
an  impression  possible  only  to  some  form  of  the 
musical  temperament.  Her  exquisite  hand  and 
his  massive  one  revealed  to  his  imagination  sud 
denly  and  with  poetic  depth  the  whole  superb 
contrast  and  meaning  of  sex  —  profound  as  the 
world  —  dividing  and  uniting  all  that  lives  — 
even  the  flowers  of  the  field.  Verily  man  cometh 
up  as  a  flower,  thought  he.  The  phrase  recalled 
the  service  for  the  dead,  heard  long  before  by 
night  on  far-off  northern  fields.  Perhaps  they 
would  read  nothing  at  all  over  him  next  week, 
but  whatever  future  Nature  had  for  the  soul  of 
man,  he  knew  that  over  the  dead  body  words 
were  futile  —  as  futile  as  these  over  the  living 
man  and  woman. 

He  thought  how  sweet  life  with  Felise  would 


458  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

be  —  too  sweet  to  dare  to  think  of !  She  was 
going  to  be  sad  —  intolerably.  To  him  there 
was  an  awful  beauty  in  her  desire  to  be  his 
widow,  rather  than  not  to  have  been  his  wife, 
and  in  that  kindred  desire,  more  tragically  sweet 
—  the  desire  of  her,  the  life-giver,  to  give  him  a 
kind  of  immortality,  preserving  his  life  in  her 
child,  though  he  himself  should  vanish  from 
the  earth. 

When  the  bells  and  kneelings  were  over,  the 
married  lovers  passed  from  the  dusky  church, 
through  the  white  splendor  of  night,  to  their 
bridal,  sweet  as  Love  and  sad  as  Death. 


IX 

DEATH 

THE  Emperor's  trial  began  June  the  thirteenth, 
the  morning  after  the  wedding  of  Felise.  The 
prosecution  was  conducted  with  a  bitterness  en 
gendered  by  years  of  partisan  hatred.  From  the 
debates  in  the  Theatre  Iturbide  the  Princess  de 
Salm  brought  Roderick  the  news  that  Medina 
would  not  be  executed  till  after  the  Emperor's 
trial,  and  in  case  of  acquittal  not  at  all.  And 
so  it  was  the  real,  not  the  pretended  padre  who 
went  that  evening  to  Medina's  cell. 

Going  to  Maximilian  in  prison,  the  princess 
obtained  his  signature  upon  the  hundred-thou 
sand-peso  checks.  It  looked  as  though  the 
escape  of  the  Emperor  that  night  was  a  cer 
tainty.  But  afraid  of  compromising  himself, 
Baron  Lago,  the  Austrian  charge  d'affaires,  re 
fused  to  sign.  Baron  Magnus  thereupon  tore 
his  own  name  from  the  checks,  and  Maximilian's 
jailers,  refusing  to  accept  them  so,  revealed  the 
plot  to  Escobedo. 

With  orders  to  bring  the  Princess  Ines  de 
Salm-Salm  to  headquarters,  General  Refugio 

469 


460  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

Gonzalez  and  a  platoon  of  infantry  appeared  at 
5,  San  Augustin.  Dr.  Basch,  who  had  been  a  use 
ful  means  of  communicating  with  the  Emperor, 
was  just  going  out.  Gonzalez  arrested  him  arid 
sent  him  to  prison.  The  princess  met  Gonzalez, 
ordered  him  back,  and  blocked  the  entrance 
with  her  determined  person.  Felise,  meanwhile, 
burned  the  useless  and  incriminating  checks. 
Gonzalez  invited  the  princess  to  accompany  him 
to  headquarters.  She  declined  with  such  energy 
that  the  nonplussed  general  went  back  to  his 
superior  for  more  specific  orders.  Half  an  hour 
later  he  returned. 

"  Madame,"  he  said,  "  I  have  reported  to  Gen 
eral  Escobedo  your  refusal  to  go  to  him.  With 
Republican  gallantry  he  bids  me  say  that  the 
air  of  Queretaro  is  at  present  very  insalubrious 
for  your  Highness.  He  has  provided  an  escort 
which  will  leave  the  place  with  you  within  two 
hours." 

"  Let  it  be  good  cavalry,"  said  the  princess, 
"or  I  shall  leave  it  behind  me  on  the  road  to 
San  Luis.  I  am  going  to  the  president." 

"  Where  you  like,  Madame." 

The  big-hearted  princess  of  the  royal  house  of 
Anhalt,  who  had  been  governess,  circus  rider, 
and,  for  nursing  the  wounded,  captain  of  United 
States  troops,  embraced  Felise,  pressed  Roder 
ick's  hand,  and,  bidding  them  never  give  up,  rode 
off  for  a  last  desperate  appeal  to  Juarez. 

Victor   Hugo    had   written    the    conqueror   a 


DEATH  461 

magnificent  letter,  beseeching  him  to  leave  the 
triumph  of  Liberty  unstained. 

But  Juarez  said:  «To  kill  Maximilian  is 
just  and  necessary.  It  is  so  necessary  that  I 
would  do  it  though  it  were  not  just." 

That  was  the  spirit  of  the  trial.  At  eleven 
o'clock  on  the  night  of  the  fourteenth,  the  six 
captains  of  the  court  sentenced  "the  Archduke 
Ferdinand  Maximilian  and  his  so-called  generals 
Miramon  and  Mejia"  to  death.  The  execution 
was  set  for  three  next  afternoon. 

Roderick  prepared  to  go  that  night  to  the 
Casino,  but  from  San  Luis  came  a  telegram  post 
poning  the  moment  till  the  dawn  of  the  six 
teenth.  The  bridegroom  seized  the  added  day 
of  life. 

Above  Medina,  lying  in  his  cell,  hung  the 
death  sentence  like  a  threatening,  weighted 
sword.  Day  and  night  he  watched  the  swing 
and  strain  upon  its  almost  breaking  thread. 

Maximilian,  Miramon,  and  Mejia  rose  at  four 
on  the  morning  of  Sunday  the  sixteenth.  They 
had  two  hours  to  live.  Padre  Soria  celebrated 
mass,  and  administered  extreme  unction.  Me- 
jia's  young  wife  told  her  husband  that  the 
Empress  Charlotte  had  died  at  Miramar.  He 
broke  the  supposed  news  to  the  Emperor. 

"  One  tie  less  to  bind  me  to  this  life ! "  said 
Maximilian,  and  awaited  death  in  almost  super 
nal  calm.  The  hour  of  six  sounded  in  the  bel 
fries —  to  the  three  prisoners  the  most  solemn 


462  RODERICK    TALIAFERRO 

sound  the  ears  of  man  can  hear.  They  listened 
for  the  steps  of  executioners.  Silence.  The 
bells  tolled  seven.  No  one  came.  Eight.  The 
suspense  grew  worse  than  death.  After  nine 
came  an  officer. 

"  The  execution  is  postponed,"  said  he. 

"  Postponed  !  "  exclaimed  the  Emperor.  «  It 
is  too  bad,  for  I  had  finished  with  this  world ! " 

"  They  will  never  kill  us  now  ! "  cried  Mejia. 
"  If  they  did,  we  should  die  twice  !  " 

That  day  and  the  next  it  did  indeed  seem 
as  though  there  would  be  no  executions.  The 
United  States  and  Europe  were  exerting  all  the 
power  of  diplomacy  to  save  the  fallen  Emperor. 

But  when,  after  this  delay,  the  order  came  for 
execution  at  six,  on  the  morning  of  the  nine 
teenth,  it  was  felt  by  all  to  be  final.  The  scenes 
of  Sunday  were  repeated  in  the  cells  of  Capucinas. 
The  hour  of  six  sounded  in  the  belfries.  The 
officers  came. 

The  firing  squads  were  men  from  Monterey. 
As  the  prisoners  stepped  into  the  street,  they 
heard  a  bugle  on  the  Hill  of  Bells. 

His  face  reflecting  terrible  thoughts,  the  Em 
peror  turned  to  Miramon.  "Is  that  the  signal 
for  our  death  ?  "  asked  he. 

"  I  don't  know,  sire,"  said  Miramon.  "  I've 
never  been  executed  before." 

The  Emperor  smiled. 

Maximilian  stepped  with  Padre  Soria  into 
the  first  of  three  hacks.  Miramon  and  Mejia 


DEATH  463 

entered  the  others.  They  were  driven  slowly. 
The  Emperor  gazed  into  the  profound  and  cloud 
less  heaven.  "  It  is  a  beautiful  day,"  he  said.  «  I 
have  always  wished  to  die  on  a  day  like  this." 

The  wife  of  Mejia  rushed  between  the  soldiers 
to  her  husband's  hack.  They  tried  to  get  her 
away.  She  clung  with  insane  strength  to  the 
revolving  wheels.  The  people  of  Queretaro 
looked  on  in  tears. 

The  hacks"  came  by  the  church  of  San  Augus- 
tin.  The  face  of  Felise  grew  ashen  as  she  looked. 
She  clung  with  anguish  to  Roderick.  She  did 
not  want  to  hear  the  volleys,  but  with  horrible 
fascination  listened,  listened,  till  half  an  hour 
went  by,  and  the  dread  sounds  came. 

The  Emperor  was  dead. 

The  news  flashed  forth  and  shocked  the  nations, 
but  to  Felise  that  death  was  only  a  dread  prelude. 

Walking  at  dusk  in  front  of  a  soldier,  on 
the  road  to  San  Luis,  Lieutenant  Sarnette  heard 
the  man's  rifle  click,  and,  looking  around,  saw  the 
muzzle  descend  to  a  level  with  his  head. 

"  What's  the  trouble  ?  "  demanded  he.  He  was 
not  particularly  alarmed ;  for,  at  the  moment,  he 
could  conceive  no  reason  why  the  soldier  should 
shoot.  «  You'll  oblige  me  by  not  pointing  that 
gun  at  me,"  he  said.  «  You  might  get  nervous." 

The  man  drew  back  his  piece.  "  I  thought  you 
were  going  to  try  to  get  away,"  he  said  lamely. 

Thinking   things   over,  Sarnette  inquired    the 


464  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

man's  name,  and  sent  a  note  to  Lieutenant-colo 
nel  Castera. 

"  Private  Jose  Doria  intends  to  assassinate 
me,"  wrote  he.  "  If  you  will  kindly  inform 
him  that  I  am  not  Colonel  Taliaferro,  you  will 
oblige 

"  Your  obedient  and  humble  servant, 
"  LIEUTENANT  VICOMTE  FEKNAND  DE  SARNETTE." 

In  a  personal  interview  with  Castera  Sarnette 
explained,  and  Private  Doria  molested  him  no 
more.  On  receiving  in  San  Luis  an  order  from 
Don  Pedro  de  Castro,  minister  of  justice,  for  Talia- 
ferro's  release,  Castera  set  the  vicomte  at  liberty. 
Returning  by  diligence  to  Queretaro,  Fernand  ar 
rived  at  5,  San  Augustin  on  the  morning  of  the 
Emperor's  death.  Being  told  of  the  wedding, 
he  bubbled  with  congratulations.  He  could  not 
understand  why  Felise  was  so  sad. 

"Thank  heaven  you  escaped !  "  exclaimed  Talia 
ferro,  hearing  Fernand's  story.  "  De  Castro  evi 
dently  meant  to  have  me  killed,  and  at  the  same 
time  get  credit  for  freeing  me  !  The  more  I  see  of 
him  —  " 

"  The  more  you  ought  to  have  killed  him  at 
Popotla,"  said  Sarnette. 

"  If  I  had,"  thought  Roderick,  "  I  might  be  found 
to-morrow  in  Medina's  cell  and  not  be  shot." 

After  the  door  of  5,  San  Augustin  had  been 
slammed  in  his  face,  Don  Jose  had  gone  to  the 
judges  of  Medina,  and  insured  his  condemnation. 


DEATH  465 

The  day  after  the  old  general's  sentence,  De  Castro 
went  back  to  his  brigade,  satisfied  that  he  had 
compassed  the  destruction  of  the  two  lives  he 
had  offered  Felise  "as  wedding  gifts." 

In  the  army  of  Diaz,  before  Mexico,  he  re 
ceived  a  letter  from  Castera  that  undeceived  him. 
With  rage  he  saw  that  Taliaferro  must  have 
walked  out  of  Santa  Teresa  the  very  morning 
he  had  seen  him  there.  Of  course  he  had  gone 
straight  to  San  Augustin.  That  was  why  that 
door  was  slammed !  And  that  cursed  letter  of 
his  !  How  Felise  had  hoodwinked  him  !  How 
she  must  have  laughed  in  her  sleeve,  as  she 
dropped  that  letter  in  the  box !  What  a  blind 
fool  he  had  been !  And  at  that  very  moment  he 
had  prided  himself  on  the  depth  of  his  game ! 

"  I  will  get  him  yet ! "  exclaimed  Don  Jose, 
and,  once  more  securing  leave  of  absence  from 
his  command,  he  took  the  road  to  Queretaro, 
vowing  that  this  time  there  should  be  no  mis 
take.  He  reached  San  Juan  del  Rio  Tuesday 
night;  and  next  morning  began  his  last  day's 
ride  to  Queretaro.  That  afternoon  he  met  the 
couriers  going  south  with  news  of  the  Emperor's 
death  that  morning. 

At  seven  that  evening  Roderick  was  dressed 
and  ready  to  go.  Sarnette,  to  whom  he  had 
revealed  part  of  his  plan,  had  gone  with  the 
donkey-boy  and  the  horses  to  the  thicket  by  San 
Sebastian.  Roderick  helped  Felise  prepare  the 
basket  of  food  which  the  padre  usually  took  to 

2H 


466  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

Medina.  With  a  pang  she  realized  that  Roder 
ick  would  not  only  carry  that  food  to-night,  but 
would  himself  eat  it  there  in  the  cell.  The 
revelation  of  De  Castro's  attempt  at  assassina 
tion  showed  too  plainly  what  Roderick  had  to 
expect.  He  said  hopefully  that  De  Castro 
might  not  find  out  his  presence  in  the  prison. 
He  said  it,  however,  only  for  her  benefit.  The 
manner  of  Medina's  escape  would  be  the  talk  of 
all  Mexico. 

Taliaferro's  disguise  was  perfect.  It  would 
not  be  necessary  to  make  Medina's  so  good  for 
his  one  passage  down  a  half-lit  corridor.  The 
strength  of  the  plan  was  that,  having  seen  a 
priest  go  in,  the  sentries,  seeing  a  priest  go  out, 
would  make  no  scrutiny. 

Till  near  the  end  Roderick  and  Felise  did  not 
speak  of  the  thing  confronting  them,  but  when 
the  time  grew  short,  her  cry,  "  Don't  go  !  "  came 
like  a  sob  from  her  sick  heart. 

Roderick's  desire  to  make  her  torture  cease 
became  intolerable.  Beside  her  anguish,  even 
honor  seemed  but  a  vain  figment.  But  when  he 
entertained  the  thought  of  yielding,  he  knew  he 
would  despise  himself,  and  in  the  reaction,  when 
her  father  died,  she  would  despise  him,  too.  He 
could  not  yield. 

"  Pitying  heart  of  Christ !  "  groaned  he,  in  his 
soul.  "  I  might  as  well  stab  her  with  knives  !  " 

"  Oh,  Roderick  !  "  moaned  she,  «  I  could  have 
gone  through  this  world  iri  a  sad  happiness  if 


DEATH  467 

only  you  had  not  refused  eternal  life  !  To  lose 
you  now  is  nothing  to  that  everlasting  loss  !  " 

"Have  you  no  doubt,  Felise,  no  tiniest  fear 
that  all  that  life  of  heaven  is  a  dream  born  of 
man's  own  desire  ?  " 

"  I  know  there's  life  in  heaven  as  I  know  I 
suffer  now  ! " 

"  Can  you  believe,  dear  girl,  —  if  the  nature  of 
man's  soul  is  such  that  it  survives  the  body's 
death,  —  can  you  believe  it  goes  at  last  to 
heaven  because  Padre  Geronimo  has  poured 
some  water,  said  some  words,  and  made  some 
signs  ?  " 

"  Being  baptized,  you  would  see  heaven  as 
surely  as  you  see  me  now !  And  oh,  how  pure 
I'd  keep  my  soul  from  sin,  dear  love,  to  join  you 
when  this  life  is  done  !  " 

"  No  wonder  you  can  believe  in  heaven,  dear," 
smiled  he,  "  since  you  can  believe  me  worthy  of 
it !  "  Looking  at  her  big,  shimmering  eyes  and  the 
sorrowful  droop  of  her  mouth,  he  suddenly  loved 
her  faith  —  he  loved  her  sweet  child  thoughts  as 
well  as  he  loved  her  woman's  heart.  "Wait 
here,  Felise,"  he  said. 

"  Not  yet ! "  cried  she,  turning  dead  pale. 
"  You  are  not  going  yet ! " 

"  Not  yet,"  he.  said.     "  I  promise." 

He  went  to  Padre  Geronimo's  room. 

"  Padre,"  said  he,  "  baptize  me." 

"  My  brother !  "  exclaimed  Geronimo,  with  joy. 
"  And  has  God  given  thee  light  at  last  ?  " 


468  RODERICK  TALIAFERRO 

"  Make  no  mistake,"  said  Roderick.  "  I  do  it 
for  Felise." 

"  Senor,"  said  the  padre,  less  joyful,  "  baptism 
is  of  the  soul,  not  of  the  mind.  The  babe 
knoweth  it  not  when  it  entereth  the  way  of  life. 
The  beliefs  of  your  intellect  may  be  heretical, 
but  in  this  hour  when,  of  your  own  will,  to  save 
the  life  of  another,  you  go  forth  from  your 
bridal  chamber  to  prison  and  perhaps  the  tomb, 
how  can  your  heart  not  turn  to  Him  who  made 
that  mightier  sacrifice  upon  the  Cross  !  " 

"  Please  don't  argue  it,  Padre." 

"  You  who  turn  your  back  upon  the  greatest 
earthly  joy  —  " 

"  Don't,  I  say  ! "  exclaimed  Roderick.  "  Per 
form  the  rite,  but  let  my  heart  alone ! " 

"  My  brother,"  said  Geronimo,  "  I  will  baptize 
thee !  If  not  before,  then  in  thy  last,  most  sol 
emn  moment,  —  which  God  grant  may  not  come 
of  this  to-night  —  who  knoweth  but  the  eyes  of 
thy  soul  may  be  unsealed  and  see  that  this 
vague  soul  of  Nature,  which  thou  dost  feel,  and 
yearnest  for  and  canst  not  find,  is  in  very  deed 
the  invisible,  sweet,  saving  heart  of  Christ ! " 

"  Padre,"  said  Roderick,  "  I  think  I  am  about 
to  die.  Your  words  flash  upon  me  the  profound 
poetry  of  Christianity,  but  my  vision  sweeps 
back  to  the  whirling  wheel  of  mist  that  was  our 
world  in  the  abysm  of  time  before  the  sun.  In 
the  light  and  scale  of  eternal  Nature,  Padre,  this 
world  conception  you  would  give  me  shrivels  to 


DEATH  469 

a  mote.  I  see  the  World,  a  vital  web,  self- 
woven,  unborn,  undying,  with  Space  for  warp 
and  Time  for  woof.  I  see  this  planet's  life,  from 
my  own  soul,  strained  pure  of  matter,  back  to 
those  tiny  living  globes,  Adams  of  earth  infold 
ing  man  as  an  acorn  folds  its  oak.  I  see  the 
chain  of  life  run  up  through  that  abysm  of  time 
till  this  generation  and  this  moment.  But  do 
you  not  see,  my  brother,  that  with  this  vision  in 
my  soul,  I  must  believe  you  have  taken  a  man  of 
yesterday,  and  called  him  eternal  God  ?  " 

"Christ  also  was  before  the  sun,"  said  Gero- 
nimo.  "  It  was  only  —  " 

"  Peace,  oh,  peace  !  "  cried  Roderick  ;  «  we  both 
waste  breath.  Come  quickly  to  Felise  !  " 

In  his  soul  the  blazing  vision  of  the  world, 
Roderick  was  baptized.  He  had  the  grave 
sweetness  of  a  grown  man  who  suffers  children 
to  practise  on  him  some  gentle  make-believe. 
The  joy  of  Felise  was  pathetic  to  him,  and  yet 
he  was  glad  he  could  act  out  the  tender  lie  that 
gave  her  solace.  As  the  padre  half  chanted  his 
Latin,  Roderick  knew  for  a  moment  what  death 
was  —  the  ceasing  of  star  and  earth  and  sun,  of 
hour  and  place,  of  enemy  and  lover,  of  memory 
and  desire  —  the  extinction,  not  only  of  himself, 
but  of  all  things.  Felise  would  cease.  She  her 
self  would  remember  their  bridal  thrill,  but  to 
him  it  would  be  as  though  it  had  not  been.  For 
a  while  the  subtle  brain  cells,  in  which  his  pas 
sionate  knowledge  of  her  was  written,  would  lie 


470  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

retaining  their  blessed  scripture  ;  but  he  who 
was  the  reader  and  the  light  would  not  be 
there. 

Unable  normally  to  conceive  its  own  non- 
existence,  the  mind  of  man  is  forced  to  think 
itself  immortal;  but,  surrounded  by  infinity,  it 
lies  open  to  terrific  glimpses,  which,  did  they 
last,  would  shatter  reason.  So  Roderick's  mind 
revolted  from  its  weirdly  perfect  knowledge  of 
death.  He  had  already  ceased  to  believe  in 
death  before  he  rose  and  felt  the  bosom  of  Felise 
against  his  living  heart.  There  rose  in  him  a 
courage  like  Mejia's,  based  on  unreasoning  belief 
that,  no  matter  what  the  risk,  he  could  not  die. 
Some  lucky  chance,  some  stratagem,  some  sudden 
burst  of  desperate  strength,  he  felt,  must  save 
him  yet ! 

But  in  spite  of  his  hope  of  life,  her  hope  of 
heaven,  it  was  already  a  kind  of  death  when  he 
drew  from  the  arms  of  Felise,  and  went  forth  in 
his  priest's  robe,  and  she  sank  down  in  agony 
before  the  crucifix  of  the  Madonna  shrine. 

Crushing  down  his  grief,  Roderick  took  his 
basket,  passed  Felipe,  waiting  in  the  patio,  and 
went  out  into  the  street. 

Half  a  dozen  horsemen  rounded  the  corner 
into  the  Calle  de  San  Augustin.  Roderick  saw 
them  under  a  street  lantern,  and  the  man  at 
their  head  looked  like  De  Castro.  "  If  I  weren't 
afraid  of  him,"  thought  Roderick,  "  I  wouldn't 
take  the  first  man  I  see  for  him."  But  as  he 


DEATH  471 

walked  toward  him  and  they  passed,  he  recog 
nized  beyond  a  doubt  the  voice  of  Don  Jose. 

«  That  is  No.  5,"  said  De  Castro. 

One  of  the  men  passed  around  by  the  church, 
doubtless  to  watch  the  rear  of  the  house. 

Taliaferro  was  instantly  certain  that  De  Castro 
had  come  for  him.  The  question  was  whether 
he  also  meant  to  harm  or  carry  off  Felise.  Six 
men  dismounted  and  left  one  with  the  horses. 
The  others  went  to  the  door,  found  it  ajar, 
pushed  it  open,  and  went  in  in  spite  of  the 
concierge.  Taliaferro  came  back,  feeling  his 
revolver  beneath  his  cassock. 

"  Don't  go  in  there,  Padre ! "  called  the  man 
with  the  horses,  but  Taliaferro  went  in. 

De  Castro's  men  had  taken  the  lantern  of  the 
concierge,  and  were  proceeding  to  search  the 
house.  Unaware  of  his  presence,  those  five  were 
at  that  moment  at  the  mercy  of  Taliaferro  com 
ing  in  behind  them,  but,  lest  his  plan  miscarry, 
he  purposed  merely  to  protect  Felise  and  defend 
himself. 

At  the  head  of  the  patio  stairs,  De  Castro  en 
countered  Padre  Geronimo,  who  demanded  an 
explanation. 

"  There's  a  man  here  I  want,"  said  De  Castro, 
«  and  I  propose  to  get  him." 

« Your  man  is  not  here,  Don  Jose,  and  your 
cousin  is  not  well." 

«  She's  here,  is  she  ?  "  said  De  Castro.  "  Do 
you  know  whom  I'm  looking  for  ?  " 


472  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

"  Very  well." 

"  Taliaferro  ?  "  said  De  Castro. 

"  Yes.     He  is  not  here." 

"  Has  he  been  here  ?  " 

«  Yes,  Don  Jose." 

"  Is  he  coming  back  ?  " 

"  He  is  not." 

"  When  was  he  here  ?  " 

«  That  I  shall  not  tell." 

"  Padre  Geronimo,"  said  De  Castro,  "  you're 
one  of  the  few  men  I'd  believe  on  oath,  and  I 
believe  you  well  enough  not  to  search  this  house. 
But  you  will  answer  questions  or  suffer  conse 
quences." 

« I  will  answer  such  questions  as  are  right, 
Don  Jos6,  and  not  one  more  —  be  the  conse 
quences  what  they  may." 

"  Delightful  man ! "  murmured  Taliaferro, 
whose  revolver  was  ready  ten  paces  from  De 
Castro,  but  who  did  not  want  to  shoot. 

The  clock  struck  eight.  "  It  is  now  or  never 
for  Don  Miguel,"  thought  Roderick. 

«  Oh,  well,"  said  De  Castro.  «  I  will  find  out 
with  less  trouble  from  the  servants.  He's  been 
here  lately,  or  you'd  answer.  Convey  my  love  to 
my  cousin.  I  shall  do  myself  the  honor  of  calling 
as  soon  as  I  have  finished  a  little  business." 

"  To  the  Casino,  Felipe,"  whispered  Taliaferro, 
turning  toward  the  door. 

"  One  moment,  senor,"  said  Felipe,  stopping 
to  speak  to  the  concierge. 


DEATH  473 

Taliaferro  went  out.  The  man  outside  made 
no  objection  to  the  supposed  priest's  passage, 
but  halted  Felipe. 

"The  servant  is  going  with  me,"  explained 
Taliaferro. 

"  He  cannot  go  without  permission  from  Gen 
eral  De  Castro." 

Don  Jose"  was  interrogating  the  concierge, 
who,  at  Felipe's  suggestion,  was  saying  Talia 
ferro  had  gone  to  San  Luis. 

"  I  will  walk  on,  Felipe,"  said  Roderick. 
"Follow  as  soon  as  you  have  permission." 

"  Yes,  Padre." 

Walking  rapidly  toward  the  Casino,  Roderick 
decided  to  have  Felipe  instruct  Sarnette  to  re 
turn  for  Felise.  She  would  have  a  hard  ride, 
and  would  have  to  rough  it  in  the  sierra,  but  it 
was  better  for  her  to  go  with  her  father  and 
Fernand  out  of  De  Castro's  reach. 

It  was  quarter  past  eight  when  Roderick 
arrived  at  the  prison.  Don  Miguel  must  be 
out  before  quarter  of  nine.  The  south  entrance 
led  from  the  street  down  a  narrow  corridor  to 
Medina's  cell.  It  was  the  third  door  on  the 
left  beyond  a  short  branch  corridor  which  ran 
to  the  patio.  The  street  door  was  open  and 
guarded  by  a  sentinel,  behind  whom,  on  a  wall 
bracket,  was  a  not  very  clean  candle  lantern. 
Four  or  five  sentries  were  walking  post  out 
side. 

Taliaferro  approached  the  entrance,  gave  the 


474  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

password,  and  set  down  his  basket.  "  For  Gen 
eral  Medina,"  he  said. 

"  Good  evening,  Padre,"  said  the  soldier. 
"  For  Medina,  eh  ?  "  He  took  the  basket,  threw 
back  the  napkin,  and  turned  things  over  with 
not  immaculate  hands.  It  was  his  duty  to  see 
that  it  contained  nothing  that  might  facilitate  a 
prisoner's  escape.  He  stood  so  the  priest  should 
not  notice  the  transfer  of  a  large  slice  of  turkey 
from  basket  to  capacious  pocket. 

"  Call  the  sergeant,"  said  the  priest,  sharply. 

The  sentry  started,  perceiving  that  his  theft 
was  detected.  "  The  doors  are  not  yet  locked," 
he  said.  "  You  must  go  in  without  the  sergeant ; 
he's  busy." 

Nothing  loath,  Taliaferro  picked  up  the  basket 
and  started  down  the  corridor.  He  passed  the 
guard  room  where  the  "  busy "  sergeant  and 
twenty  men  lolled  under  arms.  In  a  strip  of 
light,  falling  in  from  the  branch  corridor,  was  a 
sentry.  Taliaferro  went  by  with  hat  brim  shad 
ing  his  face.  There  was  a  low  light  from  an 
open  door  on  the  right.  In  the  room  were  two 
cots,  and  on  a  hook  a  captain's  helmet  and 
tunic.  Taliaferro  paused.  If  he  had  that  hel 
met  and  tunic  —  a  third  sentry  at  the  end  of  the 
passage  was  watching  him,  the  thing  was  im 
possible  !  Well,  thanks  to  his  revolver  —  one 
rush  down  that  corridor,  two  dead  sentries,  a 
rifle-shot,  probably  a  miss,  from  the  third,  and 
then  —  the  street.  There,  unfortunately,  more 


DEATH  475 

sentries,  and  the  guard  swarming  out  like 
hornets.  So  at  least  he  would  die  fighting,  and 
with  a  chance  for  life. 

First  Don  Miguel !  Taliaferro  had  hardly 
stopped,  so  swift  were  all  those  thoughts  of 
his  own  possible  escape. 

The  candle-lighted  room  of  General  Castillo 
stood  open.  He  was  talking  with  a  priest. 
The  Minister  Aguirre  had  no  light,  but  his  door 
was  also  open.  In  spite  of  the  heat,  Medina's 
door  was  closed.  So  much  the  better,  for  it 
would  not  attract  attention  being  closed  while 
Medina  changed  to  the  priest's  garb. 

Taliaferro's  brain  was  glowing  with  swift 
words  of  explanation.  He  knew  exactly  how 
he  was  going  to  cut  short  inquiry  and  argument. 
His  nerves  were  keyed  for  that  series  of  swift 
actions  which  should  transform  the  prisoner  and 
send  him  forth.  His  knock  was  low,  but  sharp 
as  the  cocking  of  a  hammer.  The  silence  to 
which  he  listened  contrasted  strangely  with  the 
urge  of  his  own  thoughts. 

"  Asleep  !  "  he  thought,  and,  not  wishing  to  call 
or  knock  louder,  he  opened  quickly,  stepped  in, 
and  closed  the  door.  The  room  was  very  hot, 
but  smelled  pleasantly  of  camphor.  It  was  dark, 
save  for  a  flickering  on  the  floor — a  ghost  of  light 
gliding  through  the  leaves  of  a  potted  camphor 
tree  outside  the  barred  window. 

«  Don  Miguel !  "  called  Roderick,  softly. 

He  heard  only  the  subdued  tones  of  talk  out- 


476  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

side,  the  sound  of  footsteps,  a  distant  laugh. 
Strange !  He  felt  for  the  candle,  found  it  on 
a  table,  but  hunted  vainly  for  matches.  He 
strained  his  eyes  to  determine  the  location  of 
the  bed. 

"  Don  Miguel !  "  he  repeated.  The  cell  was 
still  as  death.  The  hushed  life  of  the  listener 
concentrated  in  the  ear's  effort  to  hear  that 
breathing  which  the  mind  awaited.  Its  failure 
brought  a  terrible  surmise.  Roderick  thought 
of  Don  Miguel's  age,  of  the  anxiety  which  had 
racked  him,  of  that  feebleness  deplored  by  Felise 
the  day  of  his  trial.  From  the  half-formed  idea 
of  the  old  man  lying  dead  there  in  the  darkness 
glided  a  hope  so  cold  and  loathsome  that  Roderick 
stamped  it  out  like  a  snake's  life.  He  refused 
to  admit  to  himself  that  his  heart  could  desire 
that  death  which  would  mean  life  to  him.  With 
groping  hands  he  moved  to  discover  what  eyes 
and  ears  had  failed  to  report.  He  stumbled  over 
a  chair,  found  the  bed,  and  felt  across  the  blan 
ket.  Medina  was  not  there ! 

Roderick  sat  on  the  bed  and  tried  to  think  it 
out.  Was  it  the  right  room  ?  He  was  sure  of 
it.  Had  Medina  been  moved  again,  as  from  up 
stairs  here  ?  Castillo  had  not,  Aguirre  had  not, 
the  sentry  would  have  told  him.  Out  for  a  few 
minutes  ?  The  incommunicado  were  never  taken 
out.  He  must  be  here,  yet  was  not.  Taliaferro 
did  not  know  what  to  believe  —  the  basis  of 
belief  failed  him.  It  seemed  the  fault  of  the 


DEATH  477 

darkness.  This  room,  which  he  had  never  seen 
lacked  the  attributes  and  logic  of  reality;  he 
seemed  to  have  stepped  into  some  dream.  The 
heat  and  his  perplexity  beaded  his  brow  with 
sweat.  He  foresaw  the  failure,  the  inexplicable 
failure  of  the  plan  he  had  deemed  sure.  He 
craved  physical  light,  as  though,  dispelling  dark 
ness,  it  would  dispel  the  mystery  too,  and  restore 
him  to  the  lucid  certainty  with  which  he  had 
arrived. 

He  determined  to  find  the  candle  and  light  it 
at  Castillo's.  As  he  rose,  he  imagined  on  the 
floor  the  gleam,  the  outline,  of  a  hand.  A  freak 
of  the  wavering  light,  a  trick  of  eyes  accustomed 
to  glasses,  an  hallucination  born  of  uncertainty 
and  fear  ?  His  nerve  was  upset,  and  yet  —  he 
stepped  toward  it  and  reached  down,  half  ex 
pecting  to  touch  but  the  bare  stone  floor.  It 
was  the  hand  of  Medina. 

He  lay  face  down.  There  was  no  breath  in 
his  nostrils.  Roderick  felt  head  and  clothing 
for  the  wetness  of  blood.  There  was  none  — 
no  mark  of  violence,  save  along  the  eyebrow  an 
abrasion  which  might  have  been  made  as  he  fell. 
A  box  of  wax-matches  rattled  from  his  hand. 
Roderick  lit  the  candle.  Apparently  Medina 
was  about  to  perform  that  very  act.  The  veins 
and  arteries  behind  his  temples  showed  dark 
and  knotty.  He  had  been  dead  at  least  half 
an  hour.  Taliaferro  lifted  the  body  and  laid  it 
decently  on  the  bed. 


478  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

"  Her  father  !  "  mused  he. 

As  he  stood  there,  something  of  his  love  for 
Felise  was  reflected  upon  this  man.  The  spiritual 
look  of  the  dead  heightened  the  family  likeness. 
He  realized  with  pity  what  the  old  man  must 
have  suffered  before  his  heart  gave  way. 

"  I  should  have  come  sooner,"  he  muttered 
with  a  pang  of  conscience.  "  And  yet,  thank 
God,  he  didn't  do  that  to-morrow  —  with  me 
here ! " 

With  a  grim,  though  kindly  fancy,  he  pressed 
the  hand  of  the  man,  who,  when  alive,  had  been 
almost  his  enemy.  His  eye  fell  on  the  two  bas 
kets  Felise  had  used  to  send  food. 

"  She  won't  need  those  any  more,"  thought  he, 
and  the  trivial  fact  touched  him  more  deeply  than 
the  very  sight  of  the  dead  face. 

He  left  the  light  burning,  closed  the  door, 
went  quietly  down  the  corridor,  passed  the  sen 
tries,  and,  reaching  the  street,  turned  toward 
San  Augustin. 

"  Not  that  way,  seiior,"  said  a  voice  at  his 
elbow.  It  was  Felipe.  "  You,  senor  ! "  he  ex 
claimed,  seeing  it  was  Taliaferro.  "  The  priest 
—  I  thought  it  was  Don  Miguel." 

"  You  need  not  wait,  Felipe.    He  will  not  come." 

A  moment  later  Taliaferro  passed  De  Castro 
among  some  Republican  officers.  He  was  telling 
them  of  Taliaferro's  escape  from  Santa  Teresa. 

"  To-morrow  I  announce  a  reward  of  two  thou 
sand  pesos  !  "  he  exclaimed. 


Roderick!  '  she  cried,  and  lay  for  a  moment  in  his  arms"  .  . 


DEATH  479 

The  tall  priest  passed  within  two  yards,  and 
went  on  to  San  Augustin.  By  to-morrow  every 
soldier  in  Queretaro  would  be  keen  for  his  cap 
ture.  He  must  go  that  night,  and  Felise  with 
him. 

Entering  the  house,  his  thoughts  turned  from 
flight  to  the  tidings  he  must  bring.  He  went 
first  to  Padre  Geronimo  and  asked  if,  as  a 
Catholic,  Don  Miguel  was  prepared  for  death. 
Saying  that  the  absence  of  extreme  unction  was 
most  regrettable,  the  padre  set  out  at  once 
for  the  prison.  Roderick  came  to  the  door  of 
Felise. 

She  lay  before  the  crucifix,  her  face  on  her 
arms,  her  hair  fallen  in  heavy  folds.  As  one 
risen  from  the  dead  Roderick  looked  upon  her 
grief  for  him.  Not  to  startle  her  with  his  un 
looked-for  reappearance,  he  knocked.  She  did 
not  move.  He  himself  was  startled.  Thus  Don 
Miguel  had  lain.  The  terrible  repetition  of  that 
attitude  caused  him  to  spring  forward  with  a 
cry.  He  knelt  beside  her. 

"  Roderick  !  "  she  cried,  and  lay  for  a  moment 
in  his  arms,  too  violently  glad  to  know  or  care 
how  this  had  come  to  be.  Then  thoughts  came 
rushing.  "  Don  Jos6  has  been  here,"  she  said. 
"  I  thought  he  would  find  you  in  prison  and  have 
you  slain  !  But  you  are  here,  here  !  " 

"  Yes,  beloved,  yes." 

"  You  are  solemn." 

He  did  not  answer. 


480  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

"  Did  you  — "  she  began,  and  knew  not  how 
to  ask. 

"  I  went  to  his  cell,  Felise,"  he  said,  and 
paused.  She  waited.  "  I  could  not  make  him 

go." 

"  He  would  not  go  ? "  she  repeated,  thinking 
he  had  refused  Roderick's  sacrifice.  "  Did  you 
tell  him  of  our  marriage  ?  " 

"  No,  Felise.  Do  you  remember  the  day  he 
choked  the  soldier  who  had  seized  you  ?  " 

"  I  never  shall  forget  that  day,"  said  she. 

"Did  you  not  tell  me  he  afterward  grew 
faint?" 

"  What  do  you  mean  ? "  asked  she,  rising. 
"  Was  he  too  weak  to  go  ?  They  must  let  me 
see  him  if  he  is  sick  ! " 

Roderick  also  rose.  "  Did  he  not  catch  at  his 
heart  that  day,"  asked  he,  "  and  gasp  with  a 
strange  pain  ?  " 

"  What  do  you  mean  ?  "  repeated  she,  reading 
his  eyes,  her  own  dilating. 

."  It  must  have  been  his  heart,  Felise." 

"  Have  been  —  his  heart  ?  "  she  faltered.  «  Is 
he  —  dead  ?  " 

«  Yes,  Felise." 

Her  hands  dropped.  Anguish  left  her  no 
other  feeling.  She  did  not  know  that  her  father 
had  been  condemned  to  be  shot.  She  did  not 
know  that  his  death  had  saved  her  husband. 
She  knew  that  years  and  years  ago  she  had 
toddled  by  his  side,  and  he  had  carried  her  in  his 


DEATH  481 

arms  when  she  was  tired.      She  knew  that  he 
was  dead. 

It  was  the  reaction  Roderick  had  foreseen. 
Her  heart  was  years  away  from  him.  «  Thank 
God,  I  tried  !  "  thought  he. 

"  If  I  had  only  seen  him  !  "  moaned  Felise. 

"You  could  not  have  known  it,  child.  It 
must  have  been  sudden.  No  doubt  he  felt  well 
until  the  very  end." 

"  Then  Jesus  have  mercy,  for  he  died  without 
the  sacrament ! " 

«  Oh,  letter  which  killeth  !  "  thought  Roderick, 
regretting  his  unhappy  attempt  to  console. 
"Padre  Geronimo  has  gone  to  him,"  said  he. 
"  He  says  that  ever  since  condemnation  your 
father  has  been  preparing  his  soul  for  death." 

"  I  must  go  to  him  now ! "  said  she. 

"  Listen,  dearest,"  said  Roderick.  "  The  padre 
will  do  everything.  He  and  Fernand  will  take 
the  body  to  Cazadero.  There  you  shall  look 
once  more  upon  your  father's  face.  But  you  and 
I  must  leave  Queretaro  now.  I  passed  Don 
Jose"  in  the  street.  He  has  offered  a  reward  for 
my  capture,  and  every  moment  cuts  down  our 
chances  for  escape.  Suppose  he  captures  me  !  " 

The  first  blow  of  her  loss  had  hardened  Felise 
to  all  else  on  earth  ;  but  the  thought  of  Roder 
ick's  danger  drew  her  mind,  as  he  intended,  from 
death,  so  safe,  to  life  —  life  and  its  peril. 
Through  her  new,  keen  grief  she  remembered 
that  Roderick,  who,  through  no  fault  of  his,  had 

2i 


482  RODERICK   TALIAFERRO 

not  died  in  her  father's  stead,  was  saved.  Turn 
ing  to  him,  her  heart  remembered  the  anguish 
of  their  parting  and  felt  the  blessedness  of  his 
return.  Grief  lost  its  bitter  selfishness.  The 
infinite  tenderness  grief  only  can  create  possessed 
her.  She  knew,  not  only  that  her  honored 
father  had  gone,  but  that  Roderick,  who  was  to 
be  all  in  all  to  her  through  life,  had  come. 

"  Our  Father  who  is  in  heaven  meant  that  he 
should  go,  not  you,"  she  said.  With  tears  denied 
till  then,  she  went  to  Roderick's  heart. 

They  fled  that  night  from  Queretaro,  the  city 
of  death.  At  Cazadero,  whither  Fernand  and 
the  padre  took  the  body  of  Don  Miguel,  Felise 
looked  once  more  upon  her  father's  face.  The 
last  Medina  slept  in  ancestral  soil.  Felise  and 
Roderick  joined  Olvera's  thousand  men,  and  with 
them  lived  in  the  sierra  till  the  autumn.  Then, 
throughout  Mexico,  went  the  golden  word  — 
amnesty. 

Life  was  before  them. 


THE  VIRGINIAN 

A  HORSEMAN  OF  THE  PLAINS 
By  OWEN  WISTER 

Author  of   "Lin   McLean,"    "  U.  S.   Grant:   a.   Biography"  tic. 

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holds  him  absorbed  and  amused  to  the  end.  It  does  a  great  deal  more  for 
him.  .  .  .  Whoever  reads  the  first  page  will  find  it  next  to  impossible  to  put 
the  book  down  until  he  has  read  every  one  of  the  five  hundred  and  four  in 
the  book,  and  then  he  will  wish  there  were  more  of  them." 

—  The  New  York  Tribune. 

"  Mr.  Wister  has  drawn  real  men  and  real  women,  and  a  day  that 
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ginian  he  has  put  forth  a  book  that  will  be  remembered  and  read  with  inter 
est  for  many  years  hence.  May  he  soon  write  another  as  good !  " 

—  The  Chicago  American. 

"  Mr.  Wister  is  an  engaging  story  teller.  His  descriptions  are  always 
graphic,  and  he  increases  his  reputation  for  narrative  bristling  with  American 
ism  in  this  volume.  He  knows  the  West  by  long  and  intimate  personal  con 
tact,  and  he  brings  to  his  subject  a  depth  of  appreciation  and  understanding 
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the  people  vividly  before  the  reader." 

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season.  It  is  an  ordinary  formula  of  praise  to  say  that  the  author 
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"  Mr.  Mason  is  too  good  a  writer  to  be  thoroughly  appreciated  by 
the  rank  and  file  of  novel  readers.  But  there  was,  in  the  book 
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directness  of  movement  which  not  even  Stevenson  ever  attained." 

—  St.  Louis  Globe  Democrat. 

"The  book  is  out  of  the  common  run  of  present-day  fiction, 
welcome,  above  all,  for  a  refreshing  note  of  sterling  manliness,  of  the 
loyalty  of  men  of  honor  toward  each  other,  for  its  interpretation  of 
the  fine  meaning  of  the  old  English  expression,  '  a  soldier  and  a 
gentleman.'"  —  N.  Y.  Mail  and  Express. 

"To  those  to  whom  The  Black  Hole  of  Calcutta  suggests  the 
quintessence  of  cruel  imprisonment,  the  description  of  The  House 
of  Stone  at  Omdurman  in  A.  E.  W.  Mason's  'The  Four  Feathers' 
cannot  fail  to  appeal  as  a  far  more  terrible  place  of  incarceration. 
.  .  .  From  beginning  to  end  the  books  holds  one's  keenest  interest. 
It  is  carefully,  even  daintily  written  in  parts,  and  woven  with  it  is  a 
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pare  it  with  '  Mr.  Isaacs,'  the  author's  first  and  most  popular  book. 
.  .  .  Mr.  Crawford  will,  we  think,  be  held  to  have  scored  a  new  and 
distinct  success  in  this  story."  —  The  Philadelphia  North  American. 

"  In  '  Cecilia '  Mr.  Crawford  takes  us  once  more  into  the  Roman 
society  which  he  knows  so  well,  and  which  he  has  again  and  again 
deftly  delineated.  Here  once  more  he  uses  in  fresh  and  effective 
fashion  facts  or  fictions  from  the  debatable  borderland  between  the 
provinces  of  ascertained  science  and  occult  lore.  .  .  .  'Cecilia' is  in 
every  way  worthy  of  its  author's  reputation."  —  The  Athenaum. 


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By  MARK  LEE  LUTHER 
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DATE  DUE 


HIGHSMITH   45-  102 


PRINTED  IN   U.S.A. 


1903 

ram,     1873- 

ferro 


HERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FACILITY 


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HIGHSMtTH   48-10J 


PS3505  063C48  1903 
Cook,  George  Cram,  1873- 

1924. 
Roderick  Taliaferro 


UC  SOUTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FACILITY 


AA   001  259816   5 


NIVERSITY  OF  CA.    RIVERSIDE  LIBRARY 


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